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RESILIENCE OF THE FOOD SUPPLY

TO PORT FLOODING ON EAST COAST

DEFRA PROJECT FO0454

Annex Report 3:

Literature Review: Consumer Behaviour,Communications and the Usage of SocialMedia during and after Natural Disasters

DECEMBER 2015

FIZAH ZAINUDIN

KAMAL ACHUTHAN

TAKU FUJIYAMA

Table of Contents

Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................1

1. Introduction....................................................................................................................................5

2. Methodology..................................................................................................................................7

3. Results of Literature Review.....................................................................................................11

Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters ..............................................11

Case Study 1: East Japan - Earthquake and Tsunami ........................................................14

Case Study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquake ...................................................15

Case Study 3: Queensland, Australia – Flood.......................................................................16

Case Study 4: United States - Hurricane Katrina ..................................................................17

Various case studies: Extreme weather .................................................................................19

Summary of Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters....................21

Part II: Communications and actions by major companies during and after naturaldisasters ..........................................................................................................................................23





Summary of Part II: Communications and actions by major companies during and after

natural disasters .........................................................................................................................42

Part III: Communications and actions by governments during and after natural disasters 46





Summary of Part III: Communications and actions by governments during and after

natural disasters .........................................................................................................................51

Part IV: The usage of social media during and after natural disasters ..................................53





Summary of Part IV: The usage of social media during and after natural disasters........61

4. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................63

5. Bibliography.................................................................................................................................67

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Executive SummaryThis report presents the findings of a literature review to assess consumerbehaviour, communications and the usage of social media during and after naturaldisasters, with emphasis on the impact of these events to the supply andconsumption of food and beverages, as part of a research project entitled`Resilience of the Food Supply to Port Flooding on East Coast’ that wascommissioned by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).Defra initiated the development of this research in order to understand likelyconsumer behaviour and response to pressures on household food security duringand after natural disasters and how this can be managed by key stakeholdersthrough efficient communications and via social media applications.

Table 1 below summarizes the primary case studies reviewed. In addition, theresearch also looked at extreme weather events in the UK and US for consumerbehaviour.

Table 1: Summary of four case studies used in this reportCountry City/Region Date Type Damage

estimatesSource

Japan NortheasternJapan

11th March2011

Earthquakeand Tsunami

19,295deaths and359,073housesdestroyed

Imamuraand Anawat(2012)

NewZealand

Christchurch 4th

September2010 to 22nd

February2011

Earthquakes 185 deathsand over150,000housesdamaged

Parker andSteenkamp(2012)

Australia Queenslandand largeparts ofeasternAustralia

25th

December2010 to 3rd

February2011

Floods 33 deathsand at least70 townsand over200,000people wereaffected

QueenslandGovernment,(2014) andZhong et al.(2013)

UnitedStates

Gulf CoastUnitedStates

29th August2005

Hurricane 2,000 deathsand 200,000housesdestroyed

History.com(2014) andGill (2006)

These case studies were selected based on the magnitude of the impact toconsumers and the food industry. Hurricane Katrina in the US, the earthquake inChristchurch, New Zealand, and the tsunami and earthquake in Japan are listed assome of the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the past decade. TheQueensland floods are selected as one of the case studies due to the sheer size ofthe catastrophe and the overall magnitude of the damage to Australia’s foodindustry.

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Overall, the selected evidence base consists of a mixture of peer reviewed academicpapers, government reports, analysis of market research and anecdotal evidence.These references were selected based on their relevance to food and drinkconsumption. The table below contains a summary of the evidence base.

Table 2: Summary of Evidence Base

Aspects

Number of evidence bases

Peer reviewedacademic

papers

Governmentreports

Marketresearch and

anecdotalevidences

Totalreferences

Consumerbehaviour

8 1 20 29

Communicationsand actions bymajorcompanies

- - 59 59

Communicationsand actions bymajorgovernments

2 10 1 13

Usage of socialmedia

8 2 14 24

The following are the key findings of this report:

1) Consumer behaviour

It was demonstrated in all four case studies that residents who live outside theaffected areas tend to stockpile and become involved in panic buying. The goodsthat the residents tend to stockpile and choose during panic buying include bottledwater, milk, bread, rice, pasta, canned foods, powdered milk and baby food. Thedirectly affected residents opt to shop at local convenience stores instead of out oftown stores. Residents in the US and Australia respectively tend to cut back onrestaurant visits and to be willing to substitute products and compromise on productquality.

Events since 2010 have revealed emerging trends in consumer behaviour. The UKOffice for National Statistics (ONS) reported that local convenience stores had faredworse than large stores due to shoppers opting to buy food online rather than go totheir local stores during the winter of 2013. Moreover, Japanese consumerspurchased more goods online after the earthquake and tsunami in order to avoid the`embarrassment’ on being seen shopping in public.

After a natural disaster, the affected residents displayed resilience and reverted totheir normal life, however, there were a few common negative psychological impactsafter Hurricane Katrina and the Christchurch earthquakes, including increasedpurchases of alcohol, increased anxiety and stress levels and a tendency towardsthe consumption of unhealthy foods.

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2) Communications and actions by major companies

During and after a natural disaster, major companies provided coherent and regularcommunication on operations, recovery efforts, disrupted services and affectedareas. Major companies also displayed quick actions and continuous efforts torestore operations via various alternative sources and services.

Major companies provided concerted efforts to restore services and operations asquickly as possible after natural disasters. For instance, in the US and New Zealand,shipping lines cooperated with other alternative ports in order to resume servicesand to prioritise supplies of key commodities. In Australia, retailers cooperated witheach other in order to resume stock supplies to meet increased demand fromconsumers.

Major companies put safety as the highest priority during and after a natural disaster.For instance, regular notices and various supports were provided to staff that wereaffected by severely damaged working facilities. Moreover, major companies tendedto prioritise overall safety at damaged facilities and infrastructures until restorationworks were completed.

3) Communications and actions by governments

Government departments were involved in various efforts to mitigate impacts ofnatural disasters. The efforts included campaigns to reduce panic buying and toencourage energy-saving efforts. Government departments were also involved inkey cargo inspection and prioritisation of supplies of key commodities.

Government departments were involved in educating the residents on food andwater related safety information by providing comprehensive guidelines on foodevaluation at home and methods to minimise food and water spoilage. Moreover, theJapan Government conducted on-going tests to monitor and detect the levels ofradioactivity in foods after the earthquake and tsunami.

Government departments provided various relief efforts during and after naturaldisasters. These included the deployment of army personnel to airlift food to affectedareas and the provision of financial assistance to affected farmers and producers.Government departments were also involved in energy, water and sewerage systemrestoration works.

4) Usage and role of social media

It was evidenced that Facebook and Twitter were the most popular social mediasites during and after the natural disasters in Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Social media sites were utilised by the affected residents, major companies andgovernment departments to provide updates on their situation to family and friends,to provide operations updates to their customers; and to provide various recoveryand safety efforts to affected residents respectively.

The usage of social media sites has its own drawbacks in terms of accuracy andauthenticity of shared updates and information. Government departments such asthe Queensland Police Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were

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involved in eliminating and dispelling rumours, misreporting and hoax websitesduring and after natural disasters.

The research demonstrated that even though consumers tended to stockpileand become involved in panic buying, they were willing to substitute foodproducts and compromise on product quality. Major companies put safety asthe highest priority but at the same time cooperated with competitors toimprove resilience. Government departments played a crucial role inmitigating impacts, and social media proved to be an important platform forinformation sharing but required validation on information authenticity andaccuracy from the government.

The above findings were based solely on publicly accessible literature, reports andwebsites. The research on types of communications by major companies was basedprimarily on six business sectors, whereas research on types of communication bygovernments focused on the government departments in the country for each casestudy. Thus, the findings may not be directly applicable to general consumers,companies and governments. Technology such as social media is constantlyevolving, hence there is likely to be new technology being created or different trendsemerging in terms of social media usage.

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1. Introduction

Background

This research was commissioned by Defra (project FO0454) to investigate consumerbehaviour, communications and actions by major companies and governments, andthe usage of social media during and after natural disasters.

Defra policy responsibility for food includes leading on the resilience of the foodsupply chain in terms of its preparedness for events that could potentially threatenhousehold food security. In the light of prevailing and emerging patterns of extremeweather in the UK, a deeper understanding of consumer behaviour during and afternatural disasters was needed to ensure Defra, the UK government and the UK foodindustry are prepared to meet the needs of consumers and to maintain resilience offood supply where possible. Defra’s scientific and technical experts initiated thedevelopment of this research in order to understand possible consumer responses topressures on household food security during and after natural disasters and how thiscan be managed by key stakeholders through efficient communications andutilisation of social media applications.

A selection of academic literatures, reports and online information was used toderive the relevant outcomes and to scope out what existing evidence is available inthe UK and internationally to frame this part of the study and to identify evidencegaps.

Objectives

This report aims to identify:

a) Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters;

b) The communications and actions of major companies during and after naturaldisasters;

c) The communications and actions of governments during and after naturaldisasters;

d) The usage and applications of social media during and after natural disasters.

Report Structure

Following the Executive Summary section and Introduction section, the main body ofthe report comprises the following sections:

Section 3 – Methodology: outlines the literature review process and platforms usedto locate and compile relevant literatures based on the report objectives.

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Section 4 – Findings of Literature Review: contains a descriptive analysis and asummary of the findings of academic literatures, reports and online information. Thissection is divided into four parts:

Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters.

Part II: Communications and immediate actions of major companies during and afternatural disasters.

Part III: Communications and immediate actions of governments during and afternatural disasters.

Part IV: The usage of social media during and after natural disasters.

Section 5 – Conclusion: A summary of the findings of the literature review, includingresearch limitations and recommendations.

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2. Methodology

The aim of this report is to review academic literatures, reports and onlineinformation and to analyse consumer behaviour, communications and actions ofgovernments and companies, and social media usage during and after naturaldisasters, with emphasis on the impact to the supply and consumption of food andbeverages.

Framework

The research is based on the selected case studies, which are recent major naturaldisasters. The table below contains a summary of the four primary case studies. Inaddition, the research also look at extreme weather events in the UK and US forconsumer behaviour.

Table 1: Summary of four case studies used in this reportCountry City/Region Date Type Damage

estimatesSource

Japan NortheasternJapan

11th March2011

Earthquakeand Tsunami

19,295deaths and359,073housesdestroyed

Imamuraand Anawat(2012)

NewZealand

Christchurch 4th

September2010 to 22nd

February2011

Earthquakes 185 deathsand over150,000housesdamaged

Parker andSteenkamp(2012)

Australia Queenslandand largeparts ofeasternAustralia

25th

December2010 to 3rd

February2011

Flood 33 deathsand at least70 townsand over200,000people wereaffected

QueenslandGovernment,(2014) andZhong et al.(2013)

UnitedStates

Gulf CoastUnitedStates

29th August2005

Hurricane 2,000 deathsand 200,000housesdestroyed

History.com(2014) andGill (2006)

These case studies were selected based on the magnitude of the impact toconsumers and the food industry. Hurricane Katrina in the US, earthquake inChristchurch, New Zealand and tsunami and earthquake in Japan are listed as someof the worst and deadliest natural disasters in the past decade (National Geographic,2014; Science Channel, 2014; Associated Press, 2014 and List25, 2014). A literaturereview based on these case studies will form a strong foundation to determinevarious examples of consumer behaviour, actions and communication of majorcompanies and governments and the applications of social media during and afternatural disasters.

In comparison to other natural disasters, flooding is far more common and therehave been a number of floods in the past decades with varying degrees of damage.The Queensland floods are selected as one of the case studies due to the sheer size

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of the catastrophe and the overall magnitude of the damage to Australia’s foodindustry. Queensland supplies 28% of Australia’s fruit and vegetables, accounts for10% of national grain production in Australia and is a base for 45% of meatprocessors (IBIS World, 2011 and Food Chain Intelligence, 2014). Thus, there arevarious literatures, reports and online information that examined the impact of theflood to Australia’s food industry due to destruction of various crops, farmland andfood supply across the region.

For each case study, emphasis was particularly given to the following aspects:

Consumer behaviour; Communications and actions by major companies; Communications and actions by governments; and The usage of social media.

Food and beverage consumption are the main focus for each context of the study.

Literature review process

1) Academic Literatures

The first part of the literature review process focuses on consumer behaviour. Anexploratory literature review was performed by initially identifying academicrepositories and databases related to the subject area. The repositories anddatabases identified as most relevant for this research include ABI/INFORMComplete (ProQuest) and SCOPUS. The academic literatures selection process wasstructured as a `funnel’, whereby the most generic keywords such as `consumerbehaviour’ were initially used to obtain a list of academic literatures relevant to thesubject. The list of academic literatures was then further refined by adding keywordsrelated to each case study. Simultaneously, keywords such as `food’ and `consumerbehaviour’ were searched as stand-alone terms to identify earlier relevant studies.Throughout the process, a snowball strategy was applied, by following citationswithin the academic papers found. Google Scholar was also used to locate relevantreports, full text documents and journals that are available to the public. All relevantliteratures and information that were collated were skimmed through to eliminateirrelevant ones.

2) Reports and online information

The second part of the process analysed the communications aspects of theresearch. The Google search engine was used to locate relevant data andinformation. The `funnel’ structure for information identification was again adopted.Selected keywords related to each case study were used to obtain a set of relevantinformation. This set was then refined by including the names of relevant companiesand governmental organisations. Additionally, the corporate websites of the selectedmajor companies and the official websites of the governmental organisations werealso used to find relevant information, which included reports released during andafter natural disasters. As before, the snowball strategy was applied throughout theprocess.

3) Social media

The third part of the process analyses the social media aspects of the research. Theprocess was based on a combination of an exploratory literature review on

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ABI/INFORM Complete (ProQuest) and SCOPUS databases, and utilisation of theGoogle search engine to locate relevant data and information. Again, the `funnel’structure was used by which the words `social media’ were initially used and the listsof information were then refined by adding keywords relevant to each case study.Simultaneously, Google and Google Scholar were used to retrieve relevant archivednews and websites. As before, the snowball strategy was applied throughout theprocess.

Evidence base for case studies

Overall, the selected evidence base consists of a mixture of peer reviewed academicpaper, government reports, analysis of market research and anecdotal evidence.These references were selected based on their relevance to food and beverageconsumption. The table below contains a summary of the evidence base.

Table 2: Summary of evidence base

AspectsCase

Studies

Number of evidence base

Peerreviewedacademicliteratures

Governmentreports

Marketresearch

andanecdotalevidences

Totalreferences

Consumerbehaviour

Japanearthquakeand tsunami

2 - 4 6

Christchurchearthquake

2 - 3 5

Queenslandfloods

1 1 4 6

HurricaneKatrina

1 - 3 4

Extremeweather

2 - 6 8

Communicationsand actions by

majorcompanies


- - 15 15


- - 14 14

Queenslandfloods

- - 16 16

HurricaneKatrina

- - 14 14

Communicationsand actions by

majorgovernments


- 3 1 4


2 1 - 3

Queenslandfloods

- 3 - 3

HurricaneKatrina

- 3 - 3

Table 2 continues on the following page

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AspectsCase

Studies

Number of evidence base

Peerreviewedacademicliteratures

Governmentreports

Marketresearch

andanecdotalevidences

Totalreferences

Usage ofsocial media


3 - 5 8


3 - 2 5

Queenslandfloods

2 - 3 5

HurricaneKatrina

- 2 4 6

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3. Results of Literature Review

This chapter will review academic literatures and information obtained online relatedto the core themes of this report: consumer behaviour, communications and actionsby major companies and governments and the usage of social media during andafter natural disasters, with an emphasis on the impact of these events on the supplyand consumption of food and beverages. This chapter is structured into four parts:

Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters; Part II: Communications and actions by major companies during and after

natural disasters; Part III: Communications and actions by governments during and after natural

disasters; and Part IV: The usage of social media during and after natural disasters.

Each part in this chapter will include a descriptive analysis based on a selection ofcase studies listed below:

Case study 1: East Japan – Earthquake and Tsunami on 11th March 2011; Case study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquake from 4th September

2010 to 22nd February 2011; Case study 3: Queensland, Australia – Flood from 25th December 2010 to 3rd

February 2011; and Case study 4: United States – Hurricane Katrina on 29th August 2005.

Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disastersThe analysis of consumer behaviour is divided into two categories:

Immediate to short term. Medium to long term.

The outcome of the analysis is summarized in Table 3. A detailed analysis of eachcase study is included later in the report.

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Table 3: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters and extreme weatherCase Studies Consumer Behaviour: Immediate to Short

Term

(duration: 1 day to 2 weeks after a natural

disaster)

Consumer Behaviour: Medium to Long Term

(duration: 3 weeks to a few years after a natural

disaster)

1. East Japan:

Earthquake and

Tsunami

Purchasing from local stores. (Abe et al.,

2012)

Panic buying/stockpiling. (Associated Press,

2011; Cavallo et al. 2013 and Abe et al., 2012)

Concerns about food safety. (MLA Japan Retail,

2011)

Purchasing convenient and fresh

foods/sustainable foods. (McCaughan, 2011 and

McCann Worldgroup, 2014)

2. Christchurch,

New Zealand:

Earthquake

Purchasing from convenience stores.

(Ballantine et al., 2014)

Panic buying/stockpiling. (Ballantine et al.,

2014 and Finsterwalder, 2010)

Concerns about personal safety. (Ballantine et

al., 2011)

Reversion to normal or unhealthier lifestyles.

(Ballantine et al., 2011; McKenzie-McLean, 2011

and The University of Canterbury, 2013)

3. Queensland,

Australia: Flood

Product substitutions. (Kruger, 2011 and

Bartos, 2012)

Panic buying/lack of food literacy. (Bartos,

2012)

Food re-stocking/supply through alternative

modes of transport. (NewsMail, 2011 and Sykes,

2011)

Buying cheaper alternatives/buy more alcohol,

tobacco and flood-related medications. (Uribe,

2011 and Turners et al., 2011)


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Case Studies Consumer Behaviour: Immediate to Short

Term

(duration: 1 day to 2 weeks after a natural

disaster)

Consumer Behaviour: Medium to Long Term

(duration: 3 weeks to a few years after a natural

disaster)

4. United States:

Hurricane Katrina

Reduced purchasing of frozen goods,

buying shelf-stable foods. (Information

Resources, Inc., 2008).

Panic buying/stockpiling. (Information

Resources, Inc., 2008).

Broadened food & beverages

selection/reversion to normal lifestyle.

(Information Resources, Inc., 2008).

Continuing to avoid perishable items. (Kennett-

Hensel et al. (2012)

Post-Katrina Post Traumatic Stress Disorder –

buying more alcohol. (Kennett-Hensel et al.

(2012)

5. Various case

studies: Winter

storm in the US

and UK; and

various types of

weather

conditions.

Increased home delivery/ drive-through.

(Ruggless, 2014)

Reduced visits to food service outlets.

(Glazer, 2014 and Neff, 2014)

Shopping at local convenience stores.

(Halliwell, 2011)

Increasing trends in online shopping.

(Aldrick, 2013)

Direct correlation between weather and type of

food consumed. (Agnew et al., 1995 and Stulec,

2013)

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Case Study 1: East Japan - Earthquake and Tsunami

In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information hasbeen reviewed to understand the impact of the earthquake and subsequent tsunamion consumer behaviour, focusing on the consumption of food and beverages.

Consumer Behaviour: Immediate to short term

A report issued on 15th March 2011 by Associated Press reported panic buying andsupply disruptions of various food and non-food products as a result of theearthquake and subsequent tsunami. The media reported that consumers rushed tostockpile products such as canned goods, instant noodles, bread and bottled water,to the degree that in non-affected areas such as Tokyo, consumers were stunned tofind empty shelves at convenience stores which left them with no option other thaneating-out facilities.

A report by Cavallo et al. (2013) corresponds with the newspaper information onstockpiling. Using online data collected from retailers, the report suggests that thedisaster had a direct impact on product availability, with the majority of their productsgoing out of stock within days. Many goods that could be considered indispensablesuch as rice, bread, yoghurt, powdered milk and baby food disappeared quickly fromthe stores.

On the other hand, in directly affected areas, an analysis of consumers’ expenditureshowed a declining trend for two consecutive weeks immediately after the disaster,which was in contrast to the rest of Japan (Abe et al., 2012). This outcome suggeststhat consumers in the directly affected areas had difficulty in purchasing goods, dueto the inaccessibility of sales channels as a result of the destruction ofinfrastructures.

Abe et al. (2012) published a research report on the short term effects of theearthquake and tsunami on Japanese consumers’ purchasing patterns. Theresearch utilised purchase information about 12,000 consumers and 2,600 retailstores in the areas that were not directly affected. In contrast to the purchasingpatterns in the directly affected area, the report suggests that consumers’expenditure on storable goods rose sharply after the disaster except in the easternparts of Japan, which confirmed the outcome of the aforementioned report byCavallo et al. (2013).

Consumer Behaviour: Medium to long term

Chain Store Age, a monthly US-based retail newsletter and magazine, published acomprehensive report in its June 2011 edition on a questionnaire survey which wasfilled in by Japanese consumers after the earthquake and tsunami (MLA JapanRetail, 2011). One of the objectives of the questionnaire was to explore buyingtrends after the disaster. The key findings from the questionnaire include apreference for imported foods over local produce among the Japanese consumers.In comparison with trends prior to the disaster, Japanese consumers placed higherpriority on food safety and were very conscious of the origin of food products, drivenin part by the radiation fears that followed the tsunami. Another striking trend was thehigher likelihood of purchases of products with longer shelf life and prepared foods.The Japanese consumers were more inclined towards purchasing them due toconcerns about power supplies and possible power price increases.

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As a result of these concerns, the consumers were buying more convenience foodsand fresh foods that were pre-prepared as they preferred to reduce the amount oftime spent preparing food at home (McCaughan, 2011). Research also showed thatmore than half of Japanese consumers opted for brands that were associated withefforts towards helping the country to recover and personal stability. According to anongoing study by McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific entitled `Fukkatsu: JapanRebuild’, by late May 2011, 77% of people were actively supporting these actionsthrough sustainable purchasing decisions. The same research also noticedremarkable sacrifices among Japanese consumers; 75% of consumers were usingless electricity, 72% conserved more water and 68% actively sought greener optionsfor everyday consumption. Additionally, the report also highlighted an increasingtrend in online shopping. The main incentive for purchasing products online amongJapanese consumers was to avoid the `embarrassment’ of being seen shopping.

Case Study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquake

In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information hasbeen reviewed in order to understand the impact of the earthquake on consumerbehaviour, focusing on the consumption of food and beverages.


Ballantine et al. (2014) conducted a survey among Christchurch residents in July andAugust 2011 to understand the behaviour of the affected residents during and afterthe earthquake. One of the key themes of the survey was the early purchasingbehaviour of the residents immediately after the earthquake. The survey responsesindicated that residents had difficulty accessing shops due to collapsed buildings andthere was also a fear of going into shops as they worried about another earthquake.Their concern about personal safety prompted the residents to shop at localconvenience stores, petrol stations and takeaway outlets. Many participants statedthat they had to go to the nearest available stores to stock-up on essential food andbeverages as larger supermarkets were either closed or very low on suppliesbecause a lot of people bought any items that they could due to panic. The surveyalso indicated stockpiling activities carried out by the residents. Bread and milk weresingled out by the survey as items being bought in large quantities immediately afterthe disaster.

The earthquake also resulted in a shortage of clean drinking water due tocontamination from damaged sewage systems and water supply infrastructure. Theresidents were ill-prepared, hence they stockpiled bottled water which resulted in ashortage of supplies at supermarkets (Finsterwalder, 2010). The demand for non-perishable food such as canned and dried foods also increased as the power supplywas cut off. According to a report by Stanmore New World Supermarket inChristchurch, due to household appliances such as fridges and ovens not functioningowing to power cuts, non-perishable foods such as canned foods, pasta and biscuitswere among the most sought-after types of food when the supermarkets re-opened48 hours after the disaster (Foodstuffs, 2011).


According to the aforementioned survey conducted by Ballantine et al. (2011), a fewweeks after the earthquake there was a change in the residents’ shopping behaviour

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due to their considerations regarding their personal safety. Most of the residentssurveyed mentioned that they only felt safe visiting larger supermarkets if they wereaccompanied by a family member or friends. The residents revealed that thephysical infrastructure of retail outlets such as the structure of the building, shelvingin supermarkets and open versus enclosed spaces had a big influence on theirdecisions whether to go shopping in a particular place. Residents also preferred tohave a quicker and more organised shopping trip by making a complete list prior totheir trip to the mall or supermarket. On the other hand, some of the participants alsoexhibited resilience and shared their desire to revert back to their normal day-to-daypre-quake shopping behaviour. This was driven by a need to bring back a sense ofnormalcy and to re-establish a sense of personal control.

Lincoln University in Christchurch also conducted a survey among 684 students tostudy the impact of the earthquake on the students’ wellbeing six weeks after thedisaster (McKenzie-McLean, 2011). The survey results showed that female tertiarystudents ate more than their male counterparts after the earthquake. Statistically, thestudy also found that 28.9% of students questioned drank more alcohol and 33.9%stored food in case of aftershocks. Problems with anxiety levels and beingoverwhelmed by daily activities triggered this type of shopping behaviour among thestudents. As a parallel study, other research by the University of Canterbury alsofound that Christchurch women’s eating habits became unhealthier after theearthquakes in order to cope with stress (University of Canterbury, 2013).Respondents to this survey mostly preferred food that made them happy and theywere more likely to choose food for mood and familiarity reasons than for naturalcontent.

Case Study 3: Queensland, Australia – Flood

In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information hasbeen reviewed to understand the impact of the flood on consumer behaviour,focusing on the consumption of food and beverages.


A report by The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (2012)indicated that during the flood stock was supplied to retail outlets based on productavailability in warehouses (Bartos, 2012). The report suggested that affectedconsumers, especially those in remote towns, were happy to adapt their eatingpreferences to whatever stock was available. This was echoed by Andrew Young,CEO of the Brisbane marketplace, Rocklea (Kruger, 2011). Consumers were willingto substitute products, for instance an apple instead of a banana, frozen or cannedvegetables instead of fresh vegetables and long life UHT milk instead of fresh milk.According to Andrew Young, consumers were also willing to make sacrifices on afew aspects of product quality such as little blemishes on the exterior when theylooked for alternatives or product substitutes.

There were also reports on panic buying in non-affected areas such as the GoldCoast, which put unnecessary pressure on food supplies in locations that had fargreater need (Bartos, 2012). Consumers’ familiarity with disasters was alsomentioned as a key factor influencing panic buying as some interviewed residentsobserved that newer Queensland residents were more prone to panic buying thanlonger term residents. It was also suggested in the report by Bartos (2012) that the

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lack of food literacy and food knowledge exacerbated the stock issue. Manyconsumers threw away a very large amount of edible foods as they were influencedby conservative `best before’ dates on food labels. Some interviewees in Brisbanenoticed that the younger residents lacked the ability to cook from barbecue facilitiesor anything other than pre-prepared meals which became unavailable during theflood. Moreover, residents that received prior warning of the flood events made panicpurchases of fresh and frozen foods without considering that these foods would notsurvive a power outage.


Stock availability throughout supermarkets in Queensland showed a gradualimprovement from early January 2011. It was reported that many retailers looked atalternative modes of transportation such as air, rail or barge to bring supplies into theaffected towns (Sykes, 2011). According to a spokesperson for Woolworthssupermarket, essential items such as milk, bread, pasta, bottled water and cannedfoods were in high demand in all stores as residents in affected towns were stockingup on these items. Gladstone, Coles and IGA supermarkets also noticed theimmediate reaction of consumers to buy essential items once stocks were availablein their supermarkets. Besides essential items, consumers also bought items suchas fresh produce, chickens, hams, eggs and ready-to-eat deli food such as roastchicken in large amounts (NewsMail, 2011).

Gladstone supermarket also reported that stock for items such as cigarettes alsodepleted, which correlates with a report written by Turner et al. in 2011. According tothe report, the community-based survey in the greater Brisbane region from July toAugust 2011 suggested that residents in the stricken areas were more likely to buytobacco, alcohol and flood-related medications after the disaster.

In terms of food pricing, despite the efforts by the suppliers and supermarkets to filltheir shelves, consumers had to put up with higher prices for certain productcategories due to ongoing disruption to crops, food production and supply. In mid-January 2011, a Woolworths spokesperson reassured the consumers that there wasno immediate danger to the supply of most produce except for lychees, sweetpotatoes and melons (Uribe, 2011). The chief economist of the Commonwealth Bankof Australia (CBA) also stated that the prices of tropical fruits such as pineapples andbananas were likely to increase, which left the consumer with the choice of eitherbuying cheaper alternatives or doing without completely.

Case Study 4: United States - Hurricane Katrina

In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information hasbeen reviewed to understand the impact of the hurricane on consumer behaviour,focusing on the consumption of food and beverages.


Information Resources, Inc. (IRI), the leading provider of enterprise marketinformation solutions for manufacturers and retailers, released a four-part report in2008 which focused on purchasing behaviour across three affected areas; NewOrleans, Alabama and Mississippi. The first report revealed that consumers’decisions to stock-up were based on nutritional knowledge and facts, thus shelf-stable foods offering protein, such as canned meat, canned seafood and dried meat

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snacks saw an increase in demand. Consumers were also reported to buy largequantities of bottled water as well as shelf-stable non-fruit drinks and aseptic juices.Due to potential disruptions to power supply, the consumers were more inclined toavoid food and beverages requiring refrigeration. This could be seen through asignificant decline in sales across dairy and frozen food categories. The report alsohighlighted the fact that in the week preceding the hurricane’s arrival, baby food andbaby formula/electrolyte sales increased across the three affected areas.

The second IRI report focused on items purchased by the consumers during theweek immediately following the hurricane. The analysis not only looked at theaforementioned areas but also at the surrounding regions where thousands ofdisplaced evacuees were relocated. The report suggested that directly affectedareas such as New Orleans and Alabama had a decline in grocery sales due to themass population exodus. This resulted in a shift of sales to the surrounding regionswhich saw a continuous increase in demand for shelf-stable foods, bottled water,non-fruit drinks and aseptic juices. However, in contrast with the purchasing patterna week prior to the disaster, the consumers in the surrounding regions began to buyeasy-to-prepare meals including soups and shelf-stable dinners. The sales for dairyand frozen food categories continued to decline in the affected regions but showedincreased sales in the surrounding regions.


The third and fourth parts of the IRI report analysed the purchasing behaviour twoweeks and one month after the hurricane. Two weeks after the disaster, the salesfor hurricane-related food and beverages such as shelf-stable items and bottledwater remained strong but shifted in focus to a broader array of beverages andconvenient, easy to prepare meals. Consumers were also reported to resume thepurchase of frozen food two weeks after the disaster. Supported mainly by thestabilisation of the power supply, the hurricane victims began to settle back to theirnormal pre-disaster lifestyle. The fourth report also highlighted a positive progress ofsales one month after the disaster, as consumers continued to broaden their foodand beverages selection beyond basics. It was also reported that sales returned tonormal levels across most categories, but the threat of Hurricane Rita drove sales ofshelf-stable foods and bottled water up once again, which mirrored those made bythe Gulf Coast residents prior to Hurricane Katrina.

Kennett-Hensel et al. (2012) also conducted a study on the consumption attitudesand buying behaviour of the Gulf Coast residents around eight weeks and threeyears after the disaster. The study suggested that around eight weeks after thehurricane, perishable food items were frequently identified by the respondents asitems they would not purchase or stock-up during future hurricane seasons. This isbecause they had learnt from their previous experience that these types of fooditems have limited shelf-life and require refrigeration. Some respondents interviewedthree years after the disaster indicated that any purchases that they made werebased on considerations about future storms. For instance, the common responsesthat reflected this kind of behaviour included limiting frozen foods and stocking up onnon-perishables, shelf-stable food and bottled water. Moreover, the researchers alsoobserved that many of the survivors suffered from post-Katrina Post TraumaticStress Disorder (PTSP) which had a direct impact on purchasing behaviour.Excessive alcohol consumption was stated as one of the direct results of the stressdisorder.

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Various case studies: Extreme weather

Natural disasters caused by extreme weather such as winter storms can triggermassive disruptions. The unpredictable nature of this type of disaster would causevarying degrees of disruption depending on its severity and the time required to clearaway snow and ice. Despite continuous efforts by various private and publicorganisations to minimise the impact of the weather, residents would facechallenging situations before being able to resume their daily activities due to thecollapse of services and transport. There are various academic literatures thatanalyse the impact of severe winter storms on business performance. In this section,a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information has been reviewedto understand the impact of extreme weather on consumer behaviour, focusing onthe consumption of food and beverages.

Consumer Behaviour: Immediate to short term (winter storm in the US and UK)

According to research by The NPD Group Inc., the winter storm that struck the US inearly 2014 had an impact on the footfall at food service outlets such as mid-scalefamily dining and casual-dining restaurants (Glazer, 2014). The sales for core lunchand supper businesses were also hit by the extreme weather as adults aged 25-49continued to cut back on restaurant visits. However, both food delivery and drive-through sales grew slightly, especially for pizza providers. The NPD’s marketresearch also revealed that beverages such as hot tea, hot chocolate and`frozen/slushy’ coffee saw a double-digit increase during the severe weather(Ruggless, 2014). Consumers also spent more in quick service coffee, doughnut andbagel concepts which all saw increases in traffic and sales. Beer sales at grocerystores and other off-premise retailers also increased according to figures compiledby Information Resources, Inc. (IRI). On the other hand, analysis by GuestMetricsrevealed disappointing sales for beer at bars and restaurants, which is consistentwith the decline in visits to food service outlets (Neff, 2014).

The UK experienced one of its worst winters in 2010 as freezing temperatures, snowstorms and blocked roads affected millions of UK shoppers. According to a reportreleased by The Guardian on 19th December 2010, consumers were reported to stayaway from shops in less accessible out-of-town centres as many of these shopscould only be accessed by roads (Bawden, 2010). They opted instead to visittraditional high street retailers and local convenience stores as they were moreaccessible. A report by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) as cited in The Grocermagazine stated that sales for comfort foods such as stewing meat, root vegetablesand pies were up during the severe winter in 2010 (Halliwell, 2011). The recentwinter of 2013 showed totally different trends in consumer behaviour in the UK.According to the report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), small stores hadfared worse than large stores due to shoppers opting to buy food online rather thango to their local stores (Aldrick, 2013).

Consumer Behaviour: Medium to long term (based on various weather conditions)

Consumers are traditionally inclined to buy warm and comforting food such as soupsduring cold weather and this trend is recognised by one of the largest soupmanufacturers in the world, Campbell Soup Company. However, according to areport made by the company’s CEO, the total sales for Campbell’s soups were offset

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by the extreme winter conditions throughout the US in 2013 because the companywas forced to destroy stock as some soups were frozen whilst in transit (Neff, 2014).

Two literatures empirically studied the relationship between weather and purchasingdecisions. Agnew et al. (1995) focused on the weather sensitivity of the food andbeverages sector in the UK whereas Stulec (2013) reviewed academic literatures onweather effects in the retail sector.

Agnew et al. (1995) cited a weather sensitivity study conducted by Harrison (1992)using data from the Met Office as shown in Table 4. The weather data provided bythe Met Office for this particular study were analysed with company data using asupply weather-demand algorithm. The outcome could be incorporated in inventorymanagement and stock-control systems. The information in Table 4 suggests that,for instance, as air temperature falls from 15°C to 10°C, sales of fresh fruit wouldincrease by 12%, whereas the sales of cooked chicken would fall by 12%. Assuggested by Agnew et al. (1995), this study has limitations as the trends are notalways consistent in every temperature change and in every product category suchas fruits and vegetables. However, Agnew et al. (1995) also argued that theinformation would be a great tool for stock planning at food retail and distributioncentres if detailed knowledge of the sensitivity of specific products (or categories ofproducts that respond in a similar manner to weather variability), were known.

Table 4: Weather sensitive productsProducts whole sales risewith drop in temperature

Temperature change (◦C) % sales increase

Cooking sauces 15 to 5 +28Porridge oats 20 to 15 +36Tinned soup 14 to 10 +23Fresh fruit 15 to 10 +12Tea* 15 to 5 +10Oven chips** 5 to 0 +12Instant milk* 10 to 5 +6Sweet and savoury mixes 10 to 5 +8Frozen vegetables 5 to 0 +8

Products whose salesdrop if lower temperatureor shorter daylight

Temperature change ordrop in daylight hours

% sales decrease

Cooked chicken 15 to 10°C -12Salad dressing 90 to 60 sun-hours -15Sliced cold meat 90 to 60 sun-hours -3

Fruit squash15 - 10°C; 90 to 60 sun-hours

-10

Ice Cream20 to 15°C; 90 to 60 sun-hours

-9

Source: Harrison (1992) cited in Agnew et al. (1995).

Notes: * does not apply in January;** except between January and March when sales are very low.

Stulec (2013) published a literature review on the nature and magnitude of weathereffects on consumer spending and retail sales, with the aim to raise awarenessabout weather related risks in retail businesses. The outcome of the literature review

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by Stulec (2013) is compiled in Table 5, showing only the impact of consumerspending and retail sales for food and beverages.

Table 5: Summary of literature reviews of weather effects on consumer spending andretail sales for food and beverages

Author Method Main Findings

Agnew and Thornes (1995)Survey study of British foodretailers.

During heavy rain, wind,snow or excessive heat,consumers prefer toshop in localneighbourhood stores.

Temperature andsunshine are the mostimportant weathervariables affecting thesale of food products.

Rain, wind, humidity, fogand frost have minimalimpact on food sales.

Beverages, especiallysoft drinks, and icecream as productcategories areparticularly sensitive toweather.

Murray et al. (2010)Longitudinal questionnairestudy of consumers of tea.

High levels of sunlightand low levels of relativehumidity have a positiveimpact on the mood ofconsumers which in turnhas a positive impact onretail sales of tea.

Source: Stulec (2013)

Based on Table 5, it can be concluded that local convenience stores in rural areaswould benefit from bad weather in terms of a potential increase in visits from localresidents. However, in urban areas the emerging trends of online shopping wouldfurther encourage shoppers to buy food online rather than at physical stores duringbad weather. Additionally, Table 5 also shows that sunny weather would create apositive impact on retailers as sales for items such as ice cream, soft drinks and teaincrease during this type of weather.

Summary of Part I: Consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters

In this chapter, a selection of academic literatures, reports and online information onconsumer behaviour for food and beverages purchases have been explored basedon a selection of four case studies. The summaries of the findings are as follows:

a) Immediate to short term Stockpiling and panic buying are the most common behaviour among

consumers immediately after a disaster. Consumers also opted to shop at local convenience stores due to the collapse

of transport networks or safety concerns.

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Consumers were reluctant to buy perishable foods or any food items thatrequire refrigeration, instead, shelf-stable foods such as canned foods, bread,milk, pasta, rice and bottled water are the most common items purchased byconsumers immediately after a disaster.

Due to disruptions to supplies, consumers are also willing to buy alternativefood items.

b) Medium to long term In the weeks or months after a disaster, consumers tend to adapt to a new

lifestyle or revert back to normal purchasing behaviour. There is also a psychological impact after disasters such as stress and

depression among residents which drives up sales of alcohol, tobacco andcomfort food.

There is a correlation between changes in temperature and weatherconditions and the type of food and beverages purchased by consumers.

There is an upward trend for shoppers to buy food online rather than go totheir local stores during severe weather conditions.

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Part II: Communications and actions by major companies during andafter natural disasters

This chapter aims to outline the key communications and actions by majorcompanies in the following sectors:

Shipping lines Ports Manufacturers and producers Retailers Energy companies Communication companies.

The reviews were conducted based on various online data and information in thefollowing case studies:

Case study 1: East Japan – Earthquake and Tsunami on 11th March 2011 Case study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquake from 4th September



The outcome of the analysis is summarized in Table 6. A detailed analysis of eachcase study is included later in the report.

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Table 6: Key communications and actions by major companies during and after natural disastersSectors Case Study 1: East Japan

– Earthquake and Tsunami

Case study 2:

Christchurch, New Zealand

– Earthquake

Case study 3: Queensland,

Australia – Flood

Case study 4: United

States – Hurricane Katrina

Shipping lines Service and

operations updates,

safety measures.

(Hapag-Lloyd and

Maersk Line)

Service and

operations updates,

safety measures,

cargo prioritisation.

(Inchcape Shipping

Services and Pacifica

Shipping)

Service and

operations updates,

priority cargo. (Fracht

Australia and

Australasian Transport

News)

Disrupted bulk

commodities

shipments,

operations updates.

(Wright, 2005 and

Maersk Line)

Ports Operations updates,

timeframe for ports

closure. (Leach, 2011

and Mogi and Fabi,

2011).

Operations updates.

(Port of Lyttelton)

Alternative ports

updates. (Hembry,

2011)

Operations updates.

(Port of Brisbane and

GrainCorp Ltd)

Alternative ports

updates. (Zivkusic,

2011)

Operations updates,

damaged

infrastructure, safety

measures. (Knowledge

Services Group)

Manufacturers and

producer

Operations updates.

(Meiji Holdings and

Ajinomoto Group)

Alternative supply for

rice. (Song et al.,

2011).

Product shortage and

timeframe for re-

supply. (Sanitarium)

Operations updates.

(Fonterra)

Damage to crops.

(Casey, 2011)

Alternative supply for

cane sugar. (Stone,

2011)

Operations updates

and re-routed

shipments. (Pepsi

Americas, ADM and

Chiquita Brands)


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Sectors Case Study 1: East Japan

– Earthquake and Tsunami

Case study 2:

Christchurch, New Zealand

– Earthquake

Case study 3: Queensland,

Australia – Flood

Case study 4: United

States – Hurricane Katrina

Retailers Operations updates.

(Aeon Co. Ltd and

Family Mart).

Operations updates.

(Foodstuffs and

Countdown)

Operations updates.

(Woolworths)

Operations updates,

community supports.

(Wal-Mart Stores,

Whole Foods Markets

and Publix Super

Markets

Energy companies Planned rolling

blackouts and

restoration efforts.

(Tokyo Electric Power

Company and

PowerLine Japan)

Operations updates

and restoration

efforts. (Orion New

Zealand)

Force majeure notice

to customers. (Solid

Energy New Zealand)

Operations updates,

restoration efforts

and safety

information. (Energex)

Off-shore and inland

operations updates.

(Shell)

Operations updates

and restoration

efforts. (Entergy and

Mississippi Power

Company)

Communications

companies

Operations updates

and restoration

efforts. (NTT Group

and Softbank Group)

Operations updates

and restoration

efforts. (Vodafone and

Telecom New Zealand)

Operations updates,

restoration efforts

and assistance

package. (Telstra and

Optus)

Operations updates,

collaboration efforts

with other

organisations.

(Verizon and AT&T)

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In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by major companies during andafter the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Key communications and actions by shipping lines

Hapag-Lloyd, one of the largest container shipping lines in the world, released areport on its corporate website on 22nd March 2011 which provided situation updateson the services to and from Japan. The updates included port emissions, shipmentdeviation and further precautionary steps. Under the `port emissions’ section,Hapag-Lloyd provided in detail the names of ports that the company avoided, theservices impacted and the re-routed plan for import and export shipments. Hapag-Lloyd also provided shipment deviation precautionary measures for both cargo andcrew to discharge goods at alternative ports. Due to concerns about radiation levelswhich resulted from the tsunami at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, cargoowners were also provided with information on the additional precautions conductedby Hapag-Lloyd such as thorough container control and survey procedure toeliminate the risk of radioactive contamination.

Similarly, Maersk Line, one of the biggest shipping companies in the world,published service and operations updates in April and June 2011 on its corporatewebsite. The updates in April 2011 included information on Maersk offices that wereopen and fully staffed. Maersk also included updates on services to and from portsthat were suspended. For health and safety reasons, Maersk provided informationon safety navigation zones within miles of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant forcrew and vessels that sailed within the area. In updates that were published in June2011, Maersk Line provided information on ports that were fully operational, portsthat had resumed a limited scale of operations and updates on limited feederoperations. Due to the ongoing concerns regarding radioactive contamination,Maersk also included additional safety measures for cargo and container operationsfor imports and exports through the affected ports.

Key communications and actions by ports

The tsunami that hit the east coast of Japan halted port operations throughout theregion. A report released on 11th March 2011 via JOC.com, a website serving thecontainer shipping and international supply chain industry, confirmed that the ports inthe northern part of Japan were mostly affected by the earthquake and tsunami(Leach, 2011). It was also reported that all ports in the area were out of order asinfrastructures were badly damaged or destroyed by the strong earthquake andsubsequent tsunami.

Tetsuya Hasegawa, Operations Manager at Heisei Shipping Agencies in Tokyo, wasalso quoted in a report on 14th March 2011 in which he confirmed the severity of thedamage to the northeast coast ports of Hachinohe, Sendai, Ishinomaki andOnahama (Mogi and Fabi, 2011). He also warned that the ports were not expectedto return to operation for a substantial period of time. The report also providedinformation on ports that were operational, such as ports south of Tokyo, andestimated the timeframe for resumed services at several ports that had sustainedminor damages and required further assessments.

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On 25th March 2011, The International Association of Ports and Harbours provided aconfirmation on its website that the five largest container ports in Japan, namelyTokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe, as well as import base ports for oiland bulk cargo such as Chiba and Wakayama, were back to normal operations. Theassociation also confirmed that there were no radiation risks at ports close toFukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, although some vessels were reportedly divertedfrom ports in Japan for fear of radiation.

Key communications and actions by manufacturers and producers

Meiji Holdings Co. Ltd, Japan’s largest confectionary company, released a report onits corporate website on 15th March 2011 to provide information on the impact of theearthquake and tsunami to the manufacturing plants and operations. Meiji Holdingsprovided details of the plants that were suspended for each of its subsidiarybusinesses as well as any damage to warehouses and offices.

Ajinomoto Group, a Japanese food and chemical corporation, released the samenotice on its corporate website which included detailed information on damagedmanufacturing plants, distribution and logistics facilities, delayed production andshipments and the dates when the company was expected to resume deliveries andproduction. Ajinomoto Group also provided its staff with information such as revisedoperations and procedures at the manufacturing plants and details of staff volunteeractivities. In order to save electricity consumption, Ajinomoto also provided its staffwith revised work shifts and working hours at 27 of its manufacturing plantsthroughout Japan. Moreover, the Ajinomoto Group included a review of businesscontinuity plans such as a modification of its basic management approach andmeasures to improve the supply chain of products in Japan and to strengthen riskmanagement.

The earthquake and tsunami also affected Japan’s agricultural industry. After theFukushima incident, radioactive contamination was detected on food produced nearthe damaged nuclear plant, further raising fears about Japan’s food supply andexports. Rice is the largest agricultural crop in Japan and the five regions affected bythe 2011 tsunami were among the top producers of rice in Japan (Plett, 2012).Based on a report released in Bloomberg, the Head of Research Unit at MarubeniCorporation in Tokyo was quoted as stating that as a result of the contaminationscares demand outstripped domestic production, which created a temporary riceshortage as consumers rushed to buy the staple (Song et al., 2011). The report alsohighlighted that Japan might increase rice imports if hoarding by consumerscontinued. As an alternative, Japan also increased wheat imports to meet consumerdemand for grains as a contingency measure if rice supplies from overseas wereinsufficient.

Key communications and actions by retailers

Aeon Co. Ltd., Japan’s largest retailer, released a report to provide the public withinformation on Aeon’s operations after the earthquake and tsunami in businessareas such as stores, supply chains and suppliers to Aeon and also regarding powercuts. This is the information provided by Aeon:

Stores: Aeon provided the number of larger format stores that were closed theday after the earthquake and tsunami. The company also kept the information

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updated detailing the number of stores that were opened a few weeks andmonths after the disaster.

Supply Chain: Aeon detailed a revised logistics and distribution network as aresult of damaged processing centres, cross dock facilities and regionaldistribution centres. The company also included the dates when the damagedsupply chain infrastructure being restored was back to normal operations.

Suppliers to Aeon: Aeon highlighted the general impact of the disaster on itssuppliers’ operation and the effort to work very closely with the suppliers todevelop flexible methods to get products to the stores.

Relief efforts: Aeon used some of their stores as safety shelters in theimmediate aftermath of the tsunami. Aeon also accessed alternative gasolinesources to enable their trucks to get product and relief supplies to the affectedareas.

Aeon also gave information in the report that the company would operate thestores in the affected area to match planned rolling blackouts by the regionalpower companies.

FamilyMart, a Japanese convenience store chain, released two separate updates onoperations and the delivery of food and beverages into affected area. The firstupdate on operations that was released on 15th March 2011 included details ofstores that were closed or had reduced opening hours. The second follow up updatewas released on 23rd March 2011 and provided the details of stores that were stillclosed and the company’s progress in restoring the distribution and supply chainoperations in the affected areas. FamilyMart also provided an update on 21st March2011 regarding the delivery of beverages and bowl noodles to some FamilyMartstores in some of the affected areas.

Key communications and actions by energy companies

From 14th March 2011, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) provided a regularreport to the public on planned rolling blackouts after the tsunami struck the eastcoast of Japan which resulted in the Fukushima incident. Each report contained clearand detailed information on the schedule of the rolling blackouts for each area. Theschedules were attached as appendices in each report. Brief information on thepredicted demand and supply of electricity was also included as well as key safetymeasures and ways to save electricity consumption for the public and businesses.

PowerLine Japan, a publication distributed by The Federation of Electric PowerCompanies of Japan, also provided the public with detailed roadmaps of Japanesepower companies’ efforts to restore damaged power plants and to minimise therelease of radioactive materials. In the publication, the short-term and medium tolong-term safety measures implemented at nuclear power stations were alsoincluded. Details on the number of personnel despatched from every electric powercompany in Japan were provided, including the activities at the Fukushima nuclearplant. The publication also detailed the support given by the staff such as conductingphysical, materials and environmental radioactive contamination screenings for theresidents throughout the Fukushima region.

Key communications and actions by communications companies

The earthquake and tsunami caused extensive damage to the buildings andequipment of the Japanese communications company, NTT Group. Based on

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reports by NTT Group, the immediate action by the company was to organise around10,000 of NTT Group’s staff across the nation to identify damage and to startrecovery efforts to provide means of communication throughout the disaster areas.Due to the limited capacity of the company’s networks, NTT Group had to restrictnetwork traffic to secure the capacity for emergency calls and other criticalcommunications. Additionally, NTT group installed special public phones usingsatellite equipment, deployed mobile base stations and provided free satellite mobilephones and battery recharging stations. Moreover, in order to help residents to getInternet connection, NTT Group deployed free internet booths and the rental of tabletdevices. NTT Group also provided the public with regular updates on the status ofcommunications facilities and service restoration for fixed lines and internet services.

Another Japanese communications company, SoftBank Group, also arranged mobilebase station vehicles and mobile power generators. Moreover, Softbank alsodeployed satellite transmission trucks to the evacuation shelters for a temporarycommunications network (Softbank, 2013).


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by major companies during andafter the earthquake.


Inchcape Shipping Services, one of the world’s leading maritime services providers,released a regular report on its corporate website to update the public on itsoperational status and disruptions to the company’s services as a result of theearthquake in Christchurch. On 6th September 2010, the Managing Director of thecompany released a report detailing the situation about its staff, and damage to itsoffices and the premises at the port of Lyttelton in Christchurch. It also mentioned theimplementation of safety measures at its offices and ports. Additionally, it provided alist of vessels that were due to arrive at the port within that week. Regular reportswere published to provide updates on the operations at all affected berths in theLyttelton Port and information on diversions relating to inland transportation from theport. The report also provided updates and advice for its staff.

In February 2011, Pacifica Shipping, New Zealand’s major shipping and transportcompany, released a report for its customers and suppliers to inform them aboutvessel services that were scheduled to call into the Lyttelton Port (The CharteredInstitute of Logistics and Transport, 2011). In the report, Pacifica Shipping also gavethe information that the company had a disruption on its computer network. PacificaShipping also stated that the offices, warehouses and cold storage at Lyttelton Portwere severely damaged. The report also highlighted that none of the company’s staffwere hurt. Additionally, Pacifica Shipping provided staff contact information forcustomers and suppliers who needed to prioritise earthquake relief cargo for vesselsthat were scheduled to call into Lyttelton Port.


The port of Lyttelton in Christchurch is the major gateway to the South Island of NewZealand (Lyttelton Port of Christchurch, 2014). After the earthquake, the portsuffered severe damage to key infrastructures which caused disruptions to its

30

operations. A series of regular updates were released on its corporate website whichcontained information such as operational status, damage to infrastructure,disruption to power supply and other services including estimated dates when theport could resume core operations. Severe aftershocks in February 2011 causedfurther damage to the port infrastructure and facilities. In a report, it was highlightedthat the priority was to keep the port operational so that essential food, fuel and othersupplies required by Christchurch could get through. Following the aftershocks,Lyttelton Port also provided daily updates to the affected customers giving asummary of assessment for each of the port’s core operations and the estimateddays required for the operations to get back to normal service levels.

A report released by The New Zealand Herald and The Timaru Herald in February2011 highlighted the cooperation between the port of Lyttelton and other ports suchas Port of Tauranga and Port of Timaru with the aim of sustaining the supply of keymaterials into Christchurch (Bailey and NZPA, 2011; and Hembry, 2011). It was citedthat the Chief Executives of Port of Lyttelton and Port of Tauranga consulted eachother on the day of the earthquake to discuss support and extra operational capacity(Hembry, 2011). As a result, fuel tankers and container vessels that would usuallycall at Lyttelton Port were diverted to Port of Timaru to avoid disruptions of keymaterials such as fuel and food supplies into Christchurch (The New Zealand Herald,2011).


The only factory in New Zealand that produces Marmite was temporarily closed dueto severe damage caused by the earthquake. A report released on the corporatewebsite of the manufacturers of Marmite, the Sanitarium Health and WellbeingCompany, stated that the company would require almost a year for deconstructionand strengthening work at the Marmite plant due to severe structural damage. Thisresulted in a shortage of Marmite on supermarket shelves in New Zealand.

Aftershocks in February 2011 also caused further damaged to Sanitariummanufacturing plants. A report on the company’s corporate website stated thatproduction of the breakfast product, Weet-Bix, were suspended due to the damageto the manufacturing building. The report also stated that the damage put staff safetyat risk, which prompted Sanitarium to offer affected staff redundancy packages and asupport program to assist them through the transition period. However, thesuspended operations for Weet-Bix did not result in a shortage of supply as stockwas supplied from other Sanitarium production sites. Sanitarium also confirmed inthe same report that warehousing, distribution and sales teams would continue tooperate normally from the Christchurch site. Subsequently, Sanitarium continued torelease regular reports to provide clear updates to its customers on the progress ofthe reconstruction of the damaged Marmite plant and expected date for the productto be back in stores.

Fonterra, a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative and the world’s largestexporter of dairy products, faced disruptions to milk supplies from one of its plants inChristchurch due to the earthquake. A report quoted in an interview with theirOperations Manager confirmed that the distribution centre storage facilities inPahiatua site were damaged (Walters, 2014). During the disruption, milk supplieswere diverted to other plants until it was considered safe to resume operations.However, the diversion did not affect the wider supply chain as normal procedures

31

continued at Fonterra. The Operations Manager also highlighted that the damagedPahiatua site was relatively small in comparison to other Fonterra’s operations, thusproviding assurance that it would not cause major disruption to Fonterra’s milksupply.


Foodstuffs, New Zealand's biggest grocery distributor, released regular reports on itscorporate website after the earthquakes to provide the staff and customers with thelatest updates on any disruptions at the retail stores and distribution centresthroughout Christchurch. The report released on 5th September 2010 contained ageneral update to Foodstuffs’ staff, informing them that due to minor damage atFoodstuffs’ office building and head office, all staff including those at their distributioncentres should report to work as usual unless the staff had made alternativearrangements with their managers. The report also provided information regardingthe company’s supply chain. Foodstuffs had to use an alternative distribution centreto cater for some of its damaged facilities in Christchurch, which resulted in delays tosome of their product deliveries. One of the company’s distribution centres alsosuffered intensive damage, however, Foodstuffs re-iterated that none of its staff atthe site were injured and their IT systems remained fully operational. Foodstuffs alsostated in the report that all of the company’s retail stores apart from two inChristchurch were open and one of the stores would be closed for a longer perioddue to severe damage.

Foodstuffs continued to provide updates on its corporate website, including updateson distribution centres that were still operating on a limited basis. In one reportreleased on 7th September 2010, Foodstuffs clarified incorrect information that hadbeen quoted by various media regarding the cost impact of the earthquake toFoodstuffs. The company also provided photos of the damaged distribution centre inthe report, in an attempt to deter media and photographers from trespassing on theirsite. Subsequently, Foodstuffs also provided an update to its staff and customersthat the company had to re-build a severely damaged retail store in Christchurch. Inthat report, Foodstuffs also explained the support that it would provide to the store’sowners and staff.

An aftershock in February 2011 prompted Foodstuffs to release a report on itscorporate website to reassure customers that its supply chain was operatingnormally. However, Foodstuffs highlighted in the report that the company wasexperiencing some staff shortages due to the aftershock. Even though Foodstuffsencouraged its staff to return to work and support its operation, the company alsoreiterated that their priority was staff safety. Foodstuffs also included a notice tocustomers to advise them to refrain from 'panic buying' to ensure that the immediateneeds of the affected residents could be met.

Countdown, a New Zealand full-service supermarket chain, experienced similardisruptions to its retail stores as well as to its online shopping services. On thecompany’s corporate website, Countdown provided constant updates on the locationof damaged stores and the progress of re-building, including their re-opening dates.The earthquake also disrupted Countdown’s online shopping services. A reportreleased on 24th December 2011 highlighted that Countdown’s online shoppingservice in Christchurch was suspended until further notice and the company askedaffected customers to contact their service team.

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Orion New Zealand Limited, which owns and operates one of the largest electricitydistribution networks in New Zealand, published a report in September 2011 toprovide a comprehensive review of the impact of the earthquakes in Christchurch onOrion’s operations and the company’s immediate response (Fenwick and Hoskin,2011). According to the report, Orion’s customers experienced extensive outagesfollowing the earthquake in September 2010. The immediate response from Orionwas to restore the electricity supply via alternative supply routes or to usegenerators. Orion also arranged additional staff at their Control Centre within 30minutes of the earthquake. Due to limited damage to Orion’s Control Centre andmain assets, Orion managed to restore 90% of the electricity supply to its consumersin the evening of the same day the earthquake happened.

The report also highlighted that the aftershocks in February 2011 had a larger impactthan the September 2010 earthquake. According to the report, it took about 10 daysfor Orion to restore electricity to 90% of consumers following the aftershock. Theaftershock in February 2011 also forced Orion’s staff to evacuate the main officebuilding. The report mentioned that many of their staff were stunned by the severityof the aftershock and were concerned about their families’ safety. Many of Orion’sstaff and contractors returned to their homes, with some of their staff describing thefirst few days following the aftershock as a chaotic balance between responsibility tohelp the company to restore electricity and personal needs. As a result, after theearthquake in February 2011, Orion’s initial actions were focused on staff safety.

Orion also released reports on its corporate website on a regular basis. Typically, areport would consist of information on areas that were affected, numbers ofcustomers that were without power, details of recovery efforts, and updates on majorpost-earthquake repair work, which sometimes included video recordings. Orion alsoprovided information on the number of staff involved and the total hours of workneeded for the repair work.

On the other hand, the earthquakes that caused disruption at Lyttelton Portprompted a state-owned coal mining company, Solid Energy New Zealand, to issuea force majeure notice to its international export customers to notify them that thedamage to rail and port infrastructure would cause delays to coal shipments fromSolid Energy’s coal mine sites to Lyttelton Port (Inchcape Shipping Services, 2010).


After the earthquake in September 2010, IT News published several notices to thepublic from the country’s major communications companies regarding the status ofcommunication networks. In a report released on 4th September 2010, it was statedthat mobile services in Christchurch were affected as a result of widespread damageand power cuts (Crozier, 2010). The spokesman of Vodafone New Zealand said thatdue to power cuts at a large number of sites, the company was working withelectricity distributor Orion and Christchurch City Council Civil Defence to maintaincommunication services. In order to prioritise voice calls for emergency use,Vodafone New Zealand highlighted that the company was working to secure powergenerators and was using alternative power supplies for mobile sites that couldprovide a temporary network to customers for between 3 and 8 hours. In the report,Vodafone New Zealand also reiterated that their customers should only use voice

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calls for emergencies and to use text messages for other communications in order toconserve power and free up the network for emergency services' use.

Telecom New Zealand stated in the IT News report that it had only minor disruptionsto its fixed and mobile services after the earthquake as only a small number ofmobile sites had lost power, with other mobile sites switching to battery. TelecomNew Zealand also reassured its customers that it was working hard to restore itsnetwork as quickly as possible using portable generators. Other communicationcompanies in New Zealand such as 2 Degrees Mobile and Kordia also providedinformation on service updates with both companies confirming that the majority oftheir networks were operational. On the other hand, New Zealand’s hosting firm,Where’s My Server, was also quoted in a report as offering free servers to systemsadministrators and companies affected by the earthquake.

IT News also published several notices from major communications companiesfollowing the aftershock in February 2011. Telecom New Zealand stated that the 111emergency services in Christchurch had been restored after the company wasforced to divert calls to other cities in New Zealand due to damage to itscommunication network (Saarinen, 2011). Moreover, due to power cuts, thecompany also advised customers to use fixed landline phones instead of mobiles asthe latter would not work without electricity. Telecom New Zealand stated that thecompany was allowing free calls from 280 payphones in and around Christchurchwhich allowed the affected residents to make free local and national calls. All majorcommunication companies in New Zealand including Telecom New Zealand,TelstraClear, Vodafone and 2 Degrees Mobile also urged their customers tominimise mobile phone voice usage to avoid overloading. Instead, the companiesadvised their customers to send SMS messages.


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by major companies during andafter the flood.


Due to the closure of the Port of Brisbane as a result of the flood, Fracht Australia,an international freight forwarder, released a report on its corporate website inJanuary 2011 which provided updates to its clients regarding impacted services. Ithighlighted that many shipping line offices as well as the Fracht Brisbane office weretemporarily closed or working with very limited capacity. Fracht also providedupdates on shipping routes that required diversion or rescheduling due to the closureof the Port of Brisbane. The diversion resulted in congestion at alternative ports. Forinstance, Fracht highlighted in the report that Hapag-Lloyd’s vessels omitted calls atthe congested Port of Fremantle and discharged their cargo at the Port ofMelbourne. On the other hand, vessel diversion also resulted in cargoes arrivingearlier than the estimated time of arrival. For example, Fracht stated that because ofdelays at Port Botany due to congestion, a CMA-CGM vessel was diverted to PortKembla and advised that this resulted in containers becoming available seven daysearlier.

Certain types of vessel were prioritised to dock at the Port of Brisbane once the portre-opened after a 6-day closure in January 2011. Based on a report released by

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Australasian Transport News (ATN), priority shipping operations were implementedwith a crude oil tanker being the first ship to dock once the Port of Brisbane re-opened. The Japan International Freight Forwarders Association Inc. also releasedregular reports on its website which provided the status of its operations at the Portof Brisbane. After the port re-opened, it also included information on the number ofvessels that could be berthed and the expected date for the remainder of berths tobe re-opened to commercial traffic. It also clarified that some berths required furthersurvey work and debris removal before they could be reopened.


The torrential rain in Queensland forced Australia’s third-busiest harbour, the Port ofBrisbane, to close its operations for 6 days in January 2011. As a safety measure, allships were removed from the port berths and the port had to be closed to allcommercial maritime traffic. In a report released by Australasian Transport News(ATN), the Chief Executive Officer of Shipping Australia Limited said that heanticipated a potential increase in cargo traffic at the Port of Sydney and the Port ofMelbourne due to the diversion of vessels into these ports (Zivkusic, 2011). TheChief Executive of Ports Australia also stated that the transport infrastructuredamaged by the flood would affect the supply chain for a considerable length of timeand would have a huge impact on the population. Moreover, the Chief Executivehighlighted the importance of receiving government assistance to get transportinfrastructure up and running again as it was important for their overseas marketsand reliability as a supplier.

The Port of Brisbane released a report on its corporate website once the port was re-opened. The Managing Director highlighted the significance of the resumed portoperations in restoring the supply chain and enabling the delivery of critical fuel andother commodities. However, it was highlighted that ship movements would beprioritised by strict conditions such as time, area, currents, and channel conditions atthe port.

The flood also resulted in the closure of Queensland’s biggest grain terminal locatedat the Fisherman’s Island wharf at the Port of Brisbane. Based on a report releasedby Reuters, the closure of the grain terminal resulted in a halt to grain exportoperations of GrainCorp Ltd, the largest grain handler in Eastern Australia (Hextall,2011). It was mentioned in the report that some grain shipments would be diverted toother ports in New South Wales, including the Carrington terminal near Newcastleand the Port of Kembla to the south of Sydney. Grains were shipped to these portsby rail and road transport as there were no logistics issues at these ports. Thespokesman for GrainCorp Ltd also mentioned a reduced capacity as a result of thedisruptions to export operations. It was highlighted in the report that GrainCorp Ltdhad 140,000 tonnes booked for bulk shipment out of Fisherman's Island in the monthof January 2011, but that due to the flood only 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes wereexported.


The flood caused huge damage to the Queensland agricultural industry as waterinundated many farms across the affected regions in north eastern Australia.Farmers Weekly, the leading information service for farmers and agriculturalbusinesses, released a report on its website on 14th January 2011 which compiledinformation on the damage caused by the flood to various crops. The President of

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Queensland Farmers Organisation, AgForce, told Farmers Weekly that 30 percent ofsummer sorghum and corn crops and up to 40 percent of winter grain crops weredestroyed by the flood (Casey, 2011). The combination of rain and cool weather hadalso prevented many people from harvesting their winter crops, which wouldnormally have been completed by the end of November. The president was alsoquoted as saying that the farmers’ machinery and infrastructure were also hit, withsome full grain silos toppling over as their foundations were weakened byfloodwaters. The farmers’ tractors and other machinery were also swamped by floodwater.

Australia is a leading exporter of sugar on the global market, and Queenslandsugarcane growers produce 95% of the country’s annual sugar crop (AustralianDepartment of Agriculture, 2014). The Vice-President of the Cane GrowersAssociation of Australia was quoted in Farmers Weekly as stating that most of thesugarcane farmers’ crops were wiped out by the torrential rains in November.Farmers around the key sugar cane growing region of Bundaberg were also reportedto have a total loss of up to 50% of their 2011 crop due to the flood (Casey, 2011).Moreover, it was quoted in Food Magazine’s website on 17th January 2011 that aresearch company, IBISWorld, forecasted a 27% decline in revenue for sugarcanefarmers in Queensland. Food Magazine also highlighted in its report that as a resultof the decline, the leading exporter of cane sugar, Queensland Sugar Limited,started to purchase sugar from Brazil and Thailand to supplement the fall inAustralian production. Consequently, many Australian growers were unable tocapitalise on rising sugar prices which hit a 30-year high in early 2011 (Stone, 2011).


Woolworths Limited, the largest retail company in Australia, released regular floodupdates on its corporate website to provide customers with the status of their retailoperations. In a flood update report released on 12th January 2011, Woolworthshighlighted its concern about stock levels in Queensland stores given the extent ofroad closures, supply issues and staff shortages. Woolworths also mentioned thatthe company was working in conjunction with other major retailers and theQueensland Government on contingency measures to maintain the supply ofessential items to residents across Queensland by any means possible.

Woolworths provided other key information on its operations such as the number ofstore closures and their locations, including Woolworths’ other operations such aspetrol stations, hotels and meat processing centres. Woolworths used four mainsections in their updates:

Supply levels section: Woolworths emphasised the situation in stores acrossQueensland and highlighted that stores were running very low on fresh foodsincluding bread, milk, eggs, meat, poultry and produce. Woolworths alsomentioned that many suppliers’ production facilities in Queensland wereclosed due to the flood, power outages and staff issues which causedsignificant supply shortages.

Logistics section: Woolworths highlighted the challenges to distributing stockwithin Queensland due to inundated roads. Woolworths emphasised thelimitations to coastal shipping, given the closure of the Port of Brisbane. Thecompany mentioned its cooperation with the Queensland Government andother major retailers to assess opportunities to airlift emergency supplies into

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areas where stock levels were very low. Woolworths also stated that themajority of Brisbane metro stores were continuing to receive daily deliveries.

General information section: Woolworths highlighted the price impact toproducts across the stores. The company emphasised that in the short term,there would be no noticeable impact on prices for a number of fruit andvegetable lines that were affected by the flood, but Woolworths raisedconcerns about the potential supply challenges when the Queensland harvestseason recommenced. In terms of general product pricing, Woolworthsemphasised that the company would not raise any prices to offset theincrease in freight costs. Woolworths also advised customers that stocking upon groceries would increase demand which would impact stock availability.Woolworths asked their customers to be patient whilst the company restockedits shelves.

The report released on Woolworths’ corporate website on 14th January 2011highlighted the continuous challenge to deliver food into Woolworths’ stores inQueensland. Woolworths reminded customers that it could take weeks before stocklevels returned to normal in many stores and advised them to be patient whilst thecompany replenished the shelves. The report also mentioned the Australian DefenceForce airlifting emergency provisions to certain areas. It also included information onimproved road conditions which allowed Woolworths’ trucks to deliver larger volumesof stock into stores but it also warned of a significant delivery backlog. Woolworthsalso provided information on stores that remained closed due to the flood and thepower outage as well as operations updates for its meat processing centres.


Energex, a major distributor of energy in the south east of Queensland, faced severedisruptions to its operations caused by the flood. Energex provided regular updateson its operations and safety measures to the public. The `media releases’ section ofthe ‘Energex Corporate Communications Activity - South East Queensland FloodJanuary 2011’ report stated that its staff and teams from its regional electricitydistributor, Ergon Energy, teamed up to inspect homes and businesses to ensurethat electricity could be restored in the premises. Energex also provided safetydetails and warned that it might need to cut the power supply for safety reasons.Other media releases included information on power restoration updates, areas andnumber of homes and customers that were affected and had power restored, andany planned outages. It was highlighted that Energex safely restored power toaround 60,000 homes and replaced almost 100km of overhead lines throughoutQueensland during the disaster (Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, 2014).

Energex also provided safety information in its media releases. This included urgingcustomers to be vigilant around electricity, to have a qualified electrician inspecthomes and electrical appliances that might have been water damaged and to avoidusing lifts in buildings. Energex also advised residents to have fresh and sparebatteries for their torches and radios, as well as to conserve mobile phone andlaptop PCs batteries. Energex also urged people with medical conditions that reliedon electrical-powered equipment to keep in close contact with their medicalpractitioners and seek advice. The company also urged people to avoid flood watersnear any electrical equipment and stay away from fallen power lines. Moreover, thecompany also asked customers to report damaged electricity infrastructure to

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Energex’s priority line. Energex also included frequently asked questions andanswers for public reference.


Telstra, Australia’s largest communications company, provided regular updates onits corporate website which contained key information on its mobile, broadband andlandline services. The updates included information such as the areas that wereexperiencing problems with communications services, progress updates onrestoration works, recovery plans for affected areas and a list of `red zones’ whichwere inaccessible and deemed too dangerous for their staff. Telstra also highlightedareas that were affected by power supply disruptions which relied on a reservebattery to power mobile phone towers. The number of staff involved in the restorationworks was also included in the updates as well as a list of recovery activitiesundertaken. In most of its reports, Telstra also provided notices of safety to itscustomers. For instance, Telstra reminded its customers to keep unimportant calls toa minimum to avoid congestion on its network. The company also advised itscustomers to avoid placing large damaged items on the kerbside as they couldobstruct Telstra restoration works. The reports also included information onassistance provided by Telstra such as free local payphones and on help packagesfor customers significantly affected by the flood.

Optus, the second largest communications company in Australia, was also involvedin restoration works and also provided regular updates on its network status via thecompany’s corporate website. Similar to the updates provided by Telstra, Optus alsoprovided information regarding the areas affected by service disruption and itsoperational recovery activities. One of its reports highlighted the increase incustomer service staffing and hours of operation for additional support. The reportmentioned that Optus deployed an additional 250 staff in its call centres to helpcustomers with questions relating to the restoration of services and other generalenquiries. In addition, Optus also brought in field technicians from other regions tohelp restore services in Queensland. Optus provided its customers with assistancepackages including support for customers impacted financially as a result of the floodand temporary loss of Optus services. The support included extended paymentperiods, fees waivers and free mobile and fixed line services. Moreover, the reportsalso highlighted that Optus Shops in Queensland would increase their loan phonesservice to provide greater access to services their customers who were awaitingmobile phone repairs or replacements. In addition, Optus also provided 1,500 pre-paid Optus mobile phones loaded with AUD 1,000 of credit which were distributed inthe affected areas.


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by major companies during andafter the hurricane.


The devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina resulted in a halt to bulk commoditiesshipments such as coal, oil and grain into ports along the Lower Mississippi River,which is an important route for US trade. A report in the Financial Times on 2nd

September 2005 stated that many transport infrastructures suffered severe damage.

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Additionally, many vessels such as oil rigs and barges were sunk or ran aground(Wright, 2005). The report also stated that the US Coast Guard ordered the river'sclosure between Natchez, Mississippi, and the sea to anything but rescue vesselsand tugs and barges of very shallow draft. Moreover, four other US ports at NewOrleans, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Panama City were also closed. The closuresresulted in heavy disruption to shipping. At the time of the report’s publication, 86vessels were waiting either to berth at the Port of New Orleans or to pass the floodedcity.

Subsequently, Maersk Line announced a series of closures and changes toschedules. JOC.com, a website serving the container shipping and internationalsupply chain industry, reported that Maersk Line was no longer accepting cargo to orfrom the Port of New Orleans until further notice and it would advise customers ofalternative routings. Maersk Line was quoted as stating that its APM Terminal facilityand sales office in the Port of New Orleans would be closed until further notice, andit also mentioned that all import containers would be discharged at the Port ofHouston for transport to their final destinations. Cargoes that were awaiting loadingat the Port of New Orleans terminal were moved by barge to the Port of Houston forloading at the first opportunity. Maersk Line provided the names of its vessels thatdischarged their cargo at the Port of Houston, which were originally scheduled to callat the Port of New Orleans. Maersk Line also mentioned that all cargo bound forinland destinations on the US East Coast would be delayed by at least one week.The company highlighted the status of operations for its barge carriers and railroadsserving the affected areas.


Knowledge Services Group, in conjunction with CRS (Congressional ResearchService), published a report on the shipping disruptions during Hurricane Katrina on13th September 2005 (Frittelli, 2005) and a report on the analysis of the operations atthe Ports of Louisiana (New Orleans, South Louisiana and Baton Rouge) on 14th

October 2005 (Cieslak, 2005).

The report included damage assessment and the implications to shipping duringHurricane Katrina. The report suggested that the Port of Baton Rouge and the Portof South Louisiana (between Baton Rouge and New Orleans on the MississippiRiver) suffered minimal structural damage during the disaster. Both ports reportedthat their grain elevators and other cargo handling structures were intact. The Port ofNew Orleans reported that the port was workable even though it had suffereddamage and it also reported that all four of its container gantry cranes were intact buttwo were not operational because of damage to electrical components. Somewarehouses at the port had sections of roof missing but were useable while repairswere being made. The President of the Port of New Orleans stated that he wasexpecting the port to be operating at 50% of normal capacity by the end ofSeptember 2005 and back to full capacity within six months. Moreover, the reportsuggested that the main challenges for ports indirectly impacted by the hurricanewere the lack of electricity supply and employee availability. The report mentionedthat seven ships from the National Defence Reserve Fleet (NDRF) were deployed atthe ports to provide temporary housing for port and petroleum industry workers,temporary headquarters for the Port of New Orleans staff, and cargo handlingcapabilities at damaged ports.

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The report on the analysis of the operations at the Ports of Louisiana (New Orleans,South Louisiana and Baton Rouge) provided details about the port after HurricaneKatrina struck the area. The report mentioned that, after the hurricane, the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Coast Survey used boats withsonar and scanners to assess underwater damage at the ports. These surveysassisted Port authorities to determine the safety of the ports for operations. Thereport suggested that even though operations were slowly returning to normal at theports of New Orleans, South Louisiana, and Baton Rouge, it would take aconsiderable amount of time before they would be back to full capacity. The PortDirector for the Port of New Orleans was reported to mention that after the disasterthe port would be at 30% to 40% capacity within a month, 70% to 80% within threemonths, and at 100% in four to six months, which was much faster than earlierestimates. The report also quoted that the American Association of Port Authoritieshighlighted only minor damage to the Port of South Louisiana and no damage to thePort of Baton Rouge. It also stated that the ports’ headquarters and some terminalswere being used by military and law enforcement personnel as staging areas forrescue and recovery efforts. The report highlighted that the Port of New Orleansrelied on generators to provide most of the electricity for its operation. It was alsomentioned that alternative ports in other parts of the US such as Texas, Florida,North Carolina, and Virginia handled cargo that was previously destined for the portsalong the affected states. The report also suggested that alternative ports wereselected based on their capacity, storage, distribution functions, and costs.


Hurricane Katrina severely damaged production facilities and warehouses of variousfood and beverages companies in the Gulf Coast states. Pepsi Americas, the world’ssecond largest bottler of Pepsi-Cola products, released a report on 1st September2005 to report the status of its Louisiana operations impacted by the hurricane to itsshareholders. The report mentioned that preliminary assessments of its facilities inLouisiana indicated minimal damage as a result of the hurricane. The company hasone production facility and four distribution facilities within the affected areas inLouisiana. The report confirmed that some of the facilities did not suffer any power orutilities disruptions. The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer also highlighted in thereport that the company would require some time before the company could assessthe full impact of Hurricane Katrina on its Louisiana operations. He also re-iteratedthat the company’s priority continued to be the safety and wellness of its staff andseeing to their immediate needs. It was also mentioned in the report that theCompany maintained insurance to cover certain losses related to property damageand the impact of business disruptions.

Organic Consumers Association published a report on the disruptions of operationsand damage faced by other major food producers and manufacturers (Krebs, 2005).The report stated that Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), an American global food-processing and commodities trading company, suffered severe damage to its grainterminals in New Orleans. ADM’s Senior Vice President of Agricultural Services wasquoted as stating that if ADM's four grain terminals near New Orleans remained notoperational, the company had the capacity to divert grain by railroad to its facilities inGalveston and Corpus Christi, Texas. In the report, he also confirmed that ADM wasalready using railways to ship large amounts of crops to ports along the PacificNorthwest for export to Asia. Chiquita Brands International, an American producer

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and distributor of bananas and other produce, stated that the company had nochoice but to re-route shipments of bananas and other fresh produce to alternativeports in Texas and Florida as the company’s port facilities in Gulfport, Mississippi,were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina.


Many stores and facilities in the Gulf Coast of US owned by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.,an American multinational retail corporation, were severely damaged whenHurricane Katrina struck. A report released by Progressive Grocer on 29th August2005 confirmed that the company had closed more than 80 stores in the Gulf Coaststates (McTaggart, 2005). Wal-Mart also mentioned that its Emergency OperationsCentre (EOC) would continue working around the clock with its Southeastdistribution centres to send supplies as stores re-opened. In one of Wal-Mart’sreports released on its corporate website, the company provided detailed informationon the number of facilities that were still closed, including other business operationssuch as supercentres, division 1 stores, neighbourhood markets, Sam’s Clublocations, distribution centres and call centres. In the report, Wal-Mart also gave thenumber of its staff who were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. Using the EmergencyOperations Centre (EOC) and the set-up of a Wal-Mart Emergency Information Line,the company stated that 97.7% of its staff were verified as safe. Wal-Mart alsomentioned in the report that the company offered a relocation option to any of itsstaff who were displaced.

In Wal-Mart’s subsequent reports, the company highlighted the community supportefforts that they provided for hurricane survivors. For instance, Wal-Mart wasinvolved in various forms of financial assistance and the dispatch of water andemergency supplies and products to the affected areas. The company also providedpower generators in its affected stores to allow emergency workers to use theirfacilities. Moreover, Wal-Mart also used its vast information system and in-storetechnology to help customers, staff and the general public to access information andrelief services in the aftermath of the hurricane.

The operations of other retailers in the Gulf Coast states were also affected. Basedon a report released by Progressive Grocer on 29th August 2005, Whole FoodsMarket stated that three of its stores in Louisiana, New Orleans, Metairie, and BatonRouge, were closed until further notice (McTaggart, 2005). The company alsoadvised its staff to call a toll-free help line to obtain information on the status of theirstores and other general operational information. On the other hand, the spokesmanfor Publix Super Markets Inc. stated that one of its Miami-area stores was damagedwhen the hurricane struck. The spokesman highlighted that food safety was theirpriority and mentioned that some stores had encountered power outages and werein the process of replenishing food supplies.


Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil and gas company, published a compilation ofHurricane Katrina updates on its corporate website. It included updates that wereissued by the company from August 2005 to December 2005. The hurricaneimpacted its offshore and refining facilities along the Gulf of Mexico and other inlandplants and retail operations throughout the affected states. The document consistedof 62 updates which were categorised based on Shell’s various business operationsin the US, such as refining, upstream operations, retail, chemicals and lubricants.

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There were other general updates such as supply and distribution, production,damage assessment and temporary office locations. Shell also included updates ontemporary relief from credit card fees for its customers and regular updates about theevacuation process for its staff from the affected offshore and refining facilities.Consistent with the State government’s communication, some updates also includeda plea for fuel conservation by advising its staff, customers and the public to beprudent in the use of energy.

A number of the Hurricane Katrina updates by Shell also consisted of notifications toits staff. For instance, Shell provided links to its website which allowed its staff toaccess storm updates. Shell’s staff were also provided with a contact number toreceive the latest updates on facility closings, plant status and information onassistance for themselves and their families. An on-line staff assistance programwas also set up by Shell to offer free confidential assistance. Additionally, Shellemphasised to all its staff the importance of ensuring the safety and well-being oftheir families as the highest priority. Shell provided salary continuation, provision fortemporary housing support, assistance in relocating to temporary shelter andtransportation for its staff.

Other energy companies in the US that engaged primarily in electric powerproduction also suffered severe damage to various infrastructures. In a reportreleased by The New York Times on 1st September 2005, Entergy Corporationconfirmed that 1.1 million of its 2.7 million residential and business customers werewithout power (Feder, 2005). The company also confirmed that approximately200,000 customers had power restored by 31st August 2005, which was three daysafter the hurricane. Entergy's Director of Transmission Operations also confirmedthat many of Entergy's largest industrial customers sourced power directly from largetransmission lines that had been built to withstand 150 m.p.h. winds, which allowedmost refiners and manufacturers in the area to resume production rapidly. On theother hand, the spokesman for the Mississippi Power unit of the Southern Companystated that it was the most impacted utility company. The hurricane damaged 70percent of its 8,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines and impacted195,000 of its customers in south eastern Mississippi. The spokesman for thecompany also confirmed the severe damage to its power station just east of Gulfport,Mississippi and warned that it might take as long as four weeks to restore service inthe worst-hit areas. Three days after the hurricane, only approximately 5,000 of itscustomers in Meridian, an inland city, had had electricity restored.

An essay by Smith (2013) from the Community and Regional Resilience Institutecompiled the initial response and recovery efforts by the Mississippi PowerCompany. The essay highlighted that in the months before Katrina, the MississippiPower Company had revised many aspects of its emergency response plan basedon Gulf Power Company’s approach to Florida’s Hurricane Ivan recovery effort in2004. In the event of an emergency, each of Mississippi Power’s 1,500 staff hadbeen given a well-planned storm assignment. Around 2,500 staff were deployed bythe company 24 hours after the hurricane. Within 72 hours after the storm, theMississippi Power Company managed to arrange 5,000 staff to focus on therecovery work throughout the affected states. The essay also highlighted that theMississippi Power Company received support from staff from 23 other states in theUS as well as from Canada. The company also provided temporary shelter, mealsand fuelled vehicles to assist the restoration and recovery work.

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Verizon Wireless, an American broadband and communications company, releasedregular updates on its corporate website which provided information on the status ofits services. On 25th August 2005, which was four days before the hurricane, VerizonWireless highlighted in a report that the company had organised an emergencyoperations team to ensure reliable wireless phone coverage before, during and afterthe storm for residents and local emergency agencies (Kimball, 2005). It also pre-arranged fuel delivery to its network switching facilities, ensured its on-sitegenerators were at full strength, increased call capacity in certain areas and pre-arranged `test men’ from across the state to roll in specially equipped vehicles to testits network. Verizon Wireless also provided safety messages to its customers whichincluded advice to keep mobile phone batteries charged and to have additionalcharged batteries and car-charger adapters available, to maintain a list of emergencyphone numbers and to limit non-emergency calls to conserve battery power andfree-up wireless networks for emergency agencies and operations.

After the hurricane on 29th August 2005, Verizon Wireless released regular updateson its website which included information on the areas which were impacted withservice disruptions and areas where the company’s technicians had started workingto restore out-of-service sites (Sellaway, 2005). Verizon Wireless also providedvarious supports to its customers such as offering free phone and wireless servicesfor victims to make calls, send emails and post messages over the Verizon Wirelessnetwork. It also provided temporary wireless network support via COWs (Cell onWheels).

Another major American communications company, AT&T, also planned for thehurricane (ATT, 2014). For instance, before Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coaststates, AT&T continuously monitored the situation. The company planned andcoordinated work with various local relief agencies to ensure wired and wirelesscommunications could serve as lifelines for victims. After the hurricane, AT&Tprovided crucial communication solutions for evacuees and other relief agencies byinstalling additional phone lines, landline telephones, a high speed (DSL) broadbandservice for Internet access, desktop computers, wireless phones and voicemailboxes at each shelter. The company also organised a collaborative crisisresponse team of AT&T and AT&T Pioneers, staff and retiree volunteers to helpassist evacuees with phone and Internet services. Through a collaborative effortbetween AT&T, IBM, AMD, Houston and a non-profit agency, Technology for All, 300computers were installed at the four major Texas shelters for evacuees to use theInternet to search electronically for their families and to register their contactinformation and location. AT&T also encouraged its staff to sign up as volunteers,provide donations and information for the relief work, and updated its staff on reliefactivities.

Summary of Part II: Communications and actions by major companies duringand after natural disasters

In this chapter, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tocompile the key communications and actions by major companies during and afternatural disasters. The summaries of the review are as follows:

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1) Shipping lines

a) Key communications: Updates on services to vessels. Unavailable ports and alternative ports of discharge. Estimated times of delays or service disruptions. Damaged office buildings and other facilities at ports. Updates on staff and notices for staff.

b) Key actions: Re-routing vessels to alternative ports. Re-scheduling vessel services. Implementing safety measures at offices, ports and for staff, vessel crews

and cargoes. Implementing priority shipping at ports.

2) Ports

a) Key communications: Information on port closures and damaged infrastructure and facilities. Estimated period of port closures. Information on alternative ports for operations. Updates on safety measures and recovery efforts at ports. Information on current and forecasted capacities.

b) Key actions: Checking and clarifying damage at ports and implementing safety

measures. Cooperating with other ports to avoid shortage of key supplies. Prioritising ship movements and unloading of key supplies such as fuel

and food once port re-opened.

3) Manufacturers and producers

a) Key communications: Details on damaged manufacturing plants and other facilities such as

warehouses, distribution centres and office buildings. Information on affected logistics and supply chain operations and levels of

severity. Estimated periods of plant and facilities closure and supply disruptions. Information on affected products and estimated dates of re-supply. Notices for staff such as revised working hours, affected plants and

support programs. Information on damage to farmers’, growers’ and processors’ production

and the affected crops and commodities.b) Key actions:

Diverting product supply or shipment of products from damaged inland orport facilities to other unaffected facilities.

Sourcing commodities or alternatives from other countries. Putting priority on the safety and wellness of staff.

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Offering redundancy packages and support programs to affected staff.

4) Retailers

a) Key communications: Information on stores, logistics and distribution, online shopping and other

business operations such as petrol stations and processing centres. Information on food items that were running low at stores and estimated

time required for stock to return to normal levels. Notices for staff including information on report duty and helpline contact

information. Notices for customers to refrain from panic buying and stocking-up as well

as about the general impact of supply disruptions on product pricing. Updates on re-building or restoration works at stores and other facilities,

and estimated dates of completion.b) Key actions:

Revising existing logistics and distribution networks or finding alternativedistribution centres.

Working with other retailers and government agencies on contingencymeasures.

Setting up emergency information and operations services. Being involved in disaster relief work such as supplying food, water and

emergency supplies.

5) Energy companiesa) Key communications:

Information on scheduled rolling blackouts and the number of customerswithout power supply.

Updates on recovery and power restoration works. Updates on offshore, refining operations and other inland operations for an

oil and gas company. Safety messages and top customer questions and answers for public

reference.b) Key actions:

Deploying as many staff as possible to affected areas for recovery andrestoration works.

Temporarily restoring electricity supply via alternative supply routes,transmission lines or use of generators.

Combining efforts with other energy companies in recovery and restorationworks.

A coal mining company issued a force majeure notice to internationalexport customers.

6) Communications companies

a) Key communications: Information on the status of mobile, fixed lines and wireless services in

affected areas.

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Information on the recovery and restoration works as well as on areas thatwere inaccessible or too dangerous for recovery works.

Notices to customers to reduce mobile and wireless usage to avoidnetwork congestion.

Safety messages and technology tips for affected customers.b) Key actions:

Deploying as many staff as possible for recovery and restoration works ataffected areas.

Restricting network traffic to secure capacity for emergency calls and othercritical communications.

Using back up power and generators to provide temporary service in areasaffected by power cuts.

Providing assistance for temporary means of communication to evacueesthrough satellite-based networks and mobile base stations.

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Part III: Communications and actions by governments during and afternatural disasters

This chapter aims to outline the key communications and actions by governmentsduring and after natural disasters. Emphasis has been given to communications andactions implemented for the producers, consumers and food products.

The reviews were conducted based on a selection of reports and online informationon the following case studies:

Case study 1: East Japan – Earthquake and Tsunami on 11th March 2011; Case study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquakes from 4th September



The outcome of the analysis is summarized in Table 7. Detailed analysis of eachcase study is included later in the report.

47

Table 7: Key communications and actions by major governments during and after natural disasters

Case Studies Key communications and actions by major governments during and after natural

disasters

1. East Japan: Earthquake

and Tsunami

Ministry of Consumer Affairs: Request to customers to refrain from hoarding.

Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Cabinet Secretariat: Campaigned for

energy-saving.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare: Comprehensive measures to eliminate radioactive

contamination.

2. Christchurch, New

Zealand: Earthquake

Ministry for Primary Industries: Released food related safety advice.

Christchurch City Council: Provided updates on restoration activities.

Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management and Defence Force: Provided

safety information and various relief efforts.

3. Queensland, Australia:

Flood

Department of Defence and Australian Army: Provided various relief efforts.

Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) of the Department of Agriculture: Provided

updates on cargo and shipping clearance arrangements.

Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries: Provided key contacts information and

available assistance programmes for pork producers.

4. United States: Hurricane

Katrina

Department of Energy: Provided updates on electricity, petroleum and gas supplies.

Food and Drug Administration: Provided food safety information.

Department of Agriculture: Implemented relief programmes for farmers and ranchers.

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In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by the Japanese Governmentduring and after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Key communications and actions by Japan’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs related tofood supplies

A report on 15th March 2011 by Fox News stated that panic buying was widespreadacross retail stores throughout Japan. It was stated in the report that due to fears ofshortage of essential food supplies, the minister in charge of Japan’s consumeraffairs asked people to refrain from buying items that they did not need. This wasdue to the government’s concern that hoarding might restrict the delivery ofemergency food aid to the worst affected areas.

Key communications and actions by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade andIndustry and the Ministry of the Environment related to electricity supply

The country also suffered an electricity shortage due to the damaged nuclear powerplants in north eastern Japan after the earthquakes and tsunami. As a result, at theend of March 2011, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and theCabinet Secretariat started an extensive media campaign calling for energy-saving.It also launched an energy-saving website containing energy-saving measures andexplaining how they would help alleviate the situation (Ministry of the Environment,2012). Japan’s Ministry of the Environment also published energy-saving lifestyleinformation on its website to educate people with simple and easy actions that couldbe taken at home.

Key communications and actions by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfarerelated to radioactive contamination

After the incident at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Station, the government of Japanbegan monitoring radioactive contamination in plants, animal products and tap waterin areas near the nuclear plant (Johnson, 2011). Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labourand Welfare announced on its website a series of comprehensive measures toeliminate radioactive contamination in food products. These included on-going teststo monitor and detect the levels of radioactivity in foods produced in the affectedregions and stopping the distribution of food with high levels of radionuclide. Theministry also announced decontamination of farmlands to ensure a sufficient supplyof safe food distributed in Japan, and included foods to be exported.


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by the New Zealand Governmentduring and after the earthquake.

Key communications and actions by New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industriesrelated to food safety

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries released a list of food related safetyadvice to protect the affected residents from food related illnesses after theearthquakes hit the city. The advice included methods to minimise food and water

49

spoilage, maintaining hygiene around food preparation and cooking, a list ofhousehold facilities that could be used for cooking, information on items that might ormight not be safe to eat after an emergency and a list of emergency food survival kititems to minimise the impact on health.

Key communication and actions by Christchurch City Council related to waste andwastewater

Christchurch water and waste networks suffered extensive damage as a result of theearthquake in February 2011. 80% of water and sewerage systems were severelydamaged with many reticulation systems failing completely (Johnston, 2012). TheChristchurch City Council (CCC) owns and manages the city’s water and wastewaternetworks. According to Giovinazzi et al. (2011), CCC actively engaged residents byproviding updates during the restoration activities. CCC also provided residents withan overview of some of the key issues and repair work faced by the city which werepublished and regularly updated on the CCC website.

Key communications and actions by New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence andEmergency Management, and New Zealand’s Defence Force related to various reliefefforts

After the earthquake on 4th September 2010, the Ministry of Civil Defence andEmergency Management activated the National Crisis Management Centre and co-ordinated the national response to the earthquake (New Zealand Parliament, 2014).Moreover, the ministry also provided safety information to the public (Finsterwalder,2010). The New Zealand Defence Force made an enormous contribution to theearthquake relief efforts. A report by Parfitt (2012) stated that there were 1,400personnel involved in the Defence Force’s largest operation in New Zealand. Thereport also highlighted the relief provided by the Defence Force’s personnel after thedisaster, which included providing logistics, equipment, transport and air bridges;surveys of ports and harbours; providing meals to other government agencies;helping with the restoration of desalination plants in the city’s eastern suburbs;assisting police with security; and providing humanitarian aid, particularly to the Portof Lyttelton, which was isolated from the city for the first few days.


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by the Australian Governmentduring and after the flood.

Key communications and actions by Australia’s Department of Defence and theAustralian Army related to flood relief efforts

Australia’s Department of Defence and its army personnel played a vital role inresponding to the Queensland flood. The Australian Army website stated that over1,900 army personnel were deployed for Operation Queensland Flood Assist. Theyhighlighted that their earliest response to the crisis was to bring in significantspecialist capabilities followed by the deployment of army personnel on the groundas the water began to subside. The operation included airlifting vital non‑perishablesupplies to isolated towns. A report released on 5th January 2011 on Australia’sDepartment of Defence website stated that pallet loads of supplies, including driedmilk, nappies, baby formula, toilet rolls and breakfast cereals were delivered to an

50

airport near the disaster-stricken areas. On the ground, Emergency ManagementQueensland and the Retailers Association arranged road transport from the airportfor distribution to flood victims.

Key communications and actions by Australia’s Quarantine and Inspection Service(AQIS) of the Department of Agriculture related to cargo and shipping clearancearrangements

Australia’s Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) released a notice to industryon the Department of Agriculture website on 13th January 2011 which provided briefinformation on the current situation of cargo and shipping clearance arrangements.AQIS clarified that operations in Brisbane were suspended for all but essentialairport, mail and live animal services and the notice also included the locations oftheir offices that were experiencing critical IT issues. Due to the IT issues, AQISinformed the industry that all non-essential Brisbane sea and air cargo inspectionswere suspended until further notice. It also stated that all sea and air cargo entrieswere re-directed to other regions for routine processing. AQIS advised imported foodclients that all inspection appointments were postponed as they had changed theirnortheast Queensland operation to essential service arrangements only. AQIS alsoprovided contact information for the industry personnel who required the urgentrelease of consignments.

Key communications and actions by Australia’s Department of Primary Industriesand Fisheries related to flood assistance for pork producers

The Australia’s Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries issued a report on10th January 2011 to provide comprehensive guidance including key contacts’information and details and available assistance programmes for pork producers thatwere severely affected by the flood in Queensland. The report included details ofcontact information for flood and financial assistance, pork producer assistance,assistance information sources relating to animal welfare and environmentalconcerns. The report also included details of special disaster flood assistance grantsfor the most severely affected producers. This included details on each type ofassistance, regions covered and contact details for further information.


In this section, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tounderstand the key communications and actions by the United States Governmentduring and after the hurricane.

Key communications and actions by US Department of Energy related to electricity,oil and gas supply

The Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, US Department of Energy,released a report on 30th August 2005 to provide updates on electricity, petroleumand gas supply information. The update included information on the number ofresidents without power in the affected Gulf coast states. It also highlighted thechallenges of restoration work due to the extensive flooding. The report stated thatthe Secretary of Energy had issued a press release on 29th August 2005 noting thatshould circumstances warrant it, the US President could direct that petroleum bewithdrawn from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and sold to refineries. The reportalso included information on disruptions to offshore and onshore oil and gas

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operations and the latest volume of production. This included the list of refinerieslocated in the US that were impacted by Hurricane Katrina and the status of pumpstations which were not operational.

Key communications and actions by US Food and Drug Administration related tofood safety

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a report on 29th August 2005on its website with valuable food safety information following Hurricane Katrina. TheFDA also urged residents to be prepared for the aftermath. In the report, the FDAprovided important tips to help people affected by the disaster to protect their healthand food supplies. The tips included the evaluation of stored food and watersupplies. The FDA also highlighted that perishable foods such as meat, poultry,seafood, milk and eggs that were not properly refrigerated or frozen might causeillness if consumed, even if they were thoroughly cooked. The FDA also providedother detailed information on food and water safety tips during the power cuts, oncethe power was restored and during hurricanes and floods.

Key communications and actions by the US Department of Agriculture related torelief programmes for farmers and ranchers

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) implemented a number of reliefprogrammes for farmers and ranchers that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Areport released on the 7th September 2014 on the USDA website stated that USDAwas making more than $170 million in emergency assistance available to agriculturalproducers suffering from the hurricane. USDA also announced a number of financialassistance actions such as Emergency Conservation Funding, Emergency Loans,Marketing Assistance Loans and "On-Farm" Grain Storage to alleviate short-termlogistical issues and to provide funds to help producers repair damage to their landsand facilities as a result of the hurricane. USDA also announced additionalassistance such as a non-insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) toprovide financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low-yield,inventory loss or prevented planting occurred due to natural disasters.

Summary of Part III: Communications and actions by governments during andafter natural disasters

In this chapter, a selection of reports and online information has been reviewed tocompile the key communications and actions by governments during and afternatural disasters. The summary is as follows:

1) Key communications by governments: Requests to people to refrain from hoarding. Energy-saving suggestions and status updates on electricity and energy

supplies. Information and tips on food and water safety. Instruction on how to respond to and how to recover from a disaster. Notices for cargo and shipping clearance arrangement.

2) Key actions by governments: Conducting a series of comprehensive measures to eliminate radioactive

contamination of food products.

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Deploying army personnel for various recovery and relief efforts atdisaster-stricken areas.

Prioritising essential cargo and shipping clearance arrangements. Providing support services and assistance programmes to producers,

farmers and ranchers.

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Part IV: The usage of social media during and after natural disasters

This chapter aims to review examples of social media usage during and after naturaldisasters and its role for residents, major companies and governments. The reviewwas conducted based on academic literatures, reports and online information on thefollowing case studies:

Case study 1: East Japan – Earthquake and Tsunami on 11th March 2011; Case study 2: Christchurch, New Zealand – Earthquake from 4th September



The outcome of the analysis is summarized in Table 8. Detailed analysis of eachcase study is included later in the report.

54

Table 8: Examples social media usage during and after natural disastersCase Studies Examples of social media usage

by residents

Examples of social media usage

by major companies


by governments

1. East Japan: Earthquake and

Tsunami

Survey: Respondents used

Facebook and Twitter to

provide/receive updates.

(Jung, 2012)

Survey: Social media or the

Internet most helpful/reliable

source of information. (Peary

et al., 2012)

Survey: Individual status

updates in Twitter – directly

affected individuals concerned

about the uncertainty of their

situation; individuals in remote

areas let others know that they

were safe. Respondents

concerned about inaccurate

tweets. (Acar and Murakami,

2011).

Google launch `Google Crisis

Centre’. (Google, 2013)

NTT Docomo set up an

emergency internet message

board. (Social Media Press,

2011)

Skype offer free Wi-Fi and free

calls from its 5,000 hot spots.

(Social Media Press, 2011)

Mixi allowed people to offer

various services to help victims

through its social media sites.

(Social Media Press, 2011)

Prime Minister of Japan, Naoto

Kan, sent out tweets regarding

the earthquake, including

evacuations, press

conferences, and general relief

information. (Tech Camp,

2011)

The Office of the Prime

Minister used Twitter and

Facebook to provide the latest

updates on the earthquake and

tsunami. (Tech Camp, 2011)


55

Case Studies Examples of social media usage

by residents


by major companies


by governments

2. Christchurch, New Zealand:

Earthquake

Research via social media

sites (Twitter and Facebook):

People used these sites to

provide/receive updates and

support. Updates on Twitter

were quicker than traditional

news. (Mathewson, 2012)

Bank of New Zealand (BNZ)

turned to Twitter to help track

down its 487 staff in

Christchurch, to let people

know which of its ATMs and

branches were operational,

and also to promote its

fundraising efforts.

(Mathewson, 2012)

Christchurch City Council

(CCC) set up a `wordpress’

site (in lieu of a static web

page), a Twitter account and a

Facebook page to provide

updates internally and

externally. (Sutton (2012)

3. Queensland, Australia: Flood Survey: Respondents

accessed Facebook

community groups via

invitations and to receive flood-

related information.

Respondents concerned about

conflicting/inaccurate

information (Bird et al., 2012)

Australian Broadcasting

Corporation launched

Queensland Flood Crisis Map

via Crowdmap, online mapping

service. (McDougall, 2011).

Queensland Police Service

used Facebook and Twitter to

provide updates and to dispel

rumour and misreporting.

(Fraser, 2013 and Rive et al.,

2012)

4. United States: Hurricane

Katrina

Only 50% of all Internet users

obtained information online.

(Loeb, 2012).

People used blogs and Yahoo!

groups. (Conley (2012)

Wal-Mart used corporate

websites to provide a missing

person picture board and

launched Emergency Contact

Service. (Wal-Mart, 2005)

Federal Bureau of

Investigation (FBI) investigated

an increase in fake charity

websites and emails. (FBI,

2005)

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Thomas LaMarre, a professor at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who focuseson the history of Japanese media, regarded the Japanese as very early adopters ofmobile phones, particularly when it came to accessing the internet over mobiledevices (Wagner, 2013). As in other industrialised countries, many people in Japanuse various social media sites, and Mixi, Twitter and Facebook are among the mostpopular ones in Japan (Orito et al., 2014). In this section, a selection of academicliteratures, reports and online information has been reviewed to understand theusage of social media during and after the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

The usage of social media by residents

Jung (2012) conducted a survey at a private university in Tokyo to examine collegestudents’ use of social media and its relationship to other media on the day of andafter the 11th of March earthquake in Japan. A total of 225 responses were collected.The survey found that Facebook was chosen by the greatest number of respondents(33.3%), followed by Twitter (22.2%) and Mixi (21.8%) as the social media platformsused during that day. The respondents indicated that the most common use ofFacebook was to learn if people they knew were safe (79.2%). 58.3% respondedthat they accessed Facebook to let others know how they were, 44.4% to learn whatwas happening and 6.9% to share their experience of the earthquake, includinguploading photos and videos. Twitter was used to learn what was happening (75%),to find out if people they knew were safe (68.8%), to let others know that they weresafe (45.8%) and to share their experience (8.3%). For Mixi, the dominant reasonwas to learn if people they knew were safe (85.1%), then to learn what washappening (61.7%), to let others know that they were safe (51.1%) and to share theirexperience (8.5%). Facebook was chosen by the highest percentage of respondents(35.5%) as a medium of communication, followed by Mixi (22.6%) and Twitter (18%).On the other hand, Twitter was chosen by 31.3% of the respondents as a platform toobtain information about the events, followed by Facebook (19.4%) and Mixi(18.9%). The survey result also indicated that Twitter users considered social mediato be the most helpful form of information media. Almost 40% of those who choseTwitter as their main form of social media on the day of the earthquake likewisechose social media as one of the two most helpful forms of media to help tounderstand the Fukushima nuclear accident. On the other hand, 20% of Mixi usersand only 5.8% of Facebook users chose social media as one of the two most helpfulforms of media.

Peary et al. (2012) conducted an online questionnaire survey distributed to groupsand individuals identified as having utilised social media during the disaster. 206responses were received. The respondents were between the ages of 26 to 46.There were no respondents below the age of 18, and around 88% of therespondents were in Japan at the time of the disasters. The research found that over60% of non-affected individuals, nearly 80% of indirectly affected individuals(individuals who were not affected, but had family or friends that were affected) andover 55% of directly affected individuals (individuals who experienced theearthquake to a strong degree or had to evacuate due to the tsunami) respondedthat either social media or the Internet was their most relied upon source ofinformation. 94% of respondents regardless of location (within disaster areas andnon-disaster areas) or level of affectedness (non-affected, indirectly affected, and

57

directly affected) strongly agreed that social media was `helpful’ or `extremelyhelpful’ during the disaster.

Additionally, a survey on Twitter two weeks after the earthquake which trackedstatus updates of individuals in the affected areas, conducted by Acar and Murakami(2011), found that directly affected individuals’ status updates in Twitter tended to berelated to the uncertainty of their situation, whereas individuals in remote areas usedTwitter to let others know that they were safe. The survey also found status updatesin the affected areas such as warnings, help requests, reports about the situationand tsunami warnings to be very useful as the information was well dispersed due toextensive ‘re-tweet’. However, the survey also found that there were also manyinaccurate re-tweets, hoax or misplaced calls for help which concerned therespondents. The respondents also highlighted that there were not enough statusupdates in Twitter from official sources that could have prevented misinformation.

The usage of social media by major companies

Google, an American multinational corporation specializing in Internet-relatedservices and products, launched the Google Crisis Centre, an all-inclusive websiteprovided both in Japanese and English, where the residents as well as the publiccould make donations, and receive alert and status updates on the latest informationand transit and flight status (Google, 2013). Google Crisis Centre also provided asection designated Person Finder to help people reconnect with friends and lovedones in the aftermath of the disaster. Key contact information and a message boardas well as shelter and health information were also provided. Other companies werealso involved. Based on the Social Media Press website, the Japanesecommunications company NTT Docomo set up an emergency internet messageboard which allowed affected residents to leave voicemail messages that could beaccessed by anyone searching their phone number. On the other hand, Skype, afreemium voice-over IP service and instant messaging service, offered free Wi-Fiand free calls from its 5,000 hot spots, while Mixi, Japan’s most popular socialnetworking site, allowed people to offer various services to help victims.

The usage of social media by governments

Based on the Tech Camp website, immediately after the disaster the Twitter accountfor the Prime Minister of Japan, Naoto Kan, was sending out tweets regarding theearthquake, including evacuations, press conferences, and general reliefinformation. The Office of the Prime Minister also used Twitter to provide the latestupdates on the earthquake and tsunami. They started an English version of a Twitteraccount to circulate information throughout the crisis which gained 16,000 followersin a short amount of time. The Office of the Prime Minister also set up a Facebookaccount. Some municipalities in northeast Japan started Twitter accounts after thedisaster to communicate specific, localized information to residents regardingservices, rolling blackouts and other important information.


New Zealand has a large base of active internet users. In 2009, 83% of NewZealanders were active users, with 83% of these users having a broadbandconnection at home (Bell et al., 2009). By 2011, this had increased to 86% activeusers, with 27% using smart phones to access the internet. According to a report byRive et al. (2012), the social media site Facebook was the second most frequently

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visited website in New Zealand in 2009. In this section, a selection of academicliteratures, reports and online information has been reviewed to understand theusage of social media during and after the earthquake.


Ekant Veer, a senior lecturer in marketing at the University of Canterbury, conductedresearch via social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook to monitor their usageafter the earthquakes (Mathewson, 2012). The research found that people would usethese sites to let others know they were safe and to receive messages of supportfrom around the world. Traditionally, people used community halls and churches togather after a major crisis. Due to the destruction of these facilities, many peopleused social networking sites to share information, including the location of freshwater and food. The sites were also used as a medium to share support and to keepthe community and people together. According to Ekant Veer, many people whowere not avid tweeters or Facebook users became more active after theearthquakes. The research also found that much of what was reported by thetraditional news media immediately after the earthquake had already been discussedon Twitter. In some cases, Twitter became the main source of the latest information,whereas traditional media were summarising the various tweets, rather thanreporting anything new. Ekant Veer also argued that the traditional news mediawould always be important for distributing information to the public, but it was notused for immediate and timely updates during the disaster.


After the earthquake, the Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) turned to Twitter to help trackdown its 487 staff in Christchurch, to let people know which of its ATMs andbranches were operational, and also to promote its fundraising efforts (Rogers,2011). The BNZ Twitter account sent out 467 tweets and people re-tweeted itsmessages more than 400 times in the four days after the quake. The Chief OperatingOfficer of BNZ highlighted that Twitter had been an energy-efficient means ofcommunicating after the earthquakes as it enabled the company to reach a vastaudience easily. Moreover, the Chief Operating Officer also mentioned that somepeople had indicated they would switch to BNZ on the strength of its earthquake-related social media activities.


Following the February 2011 earthquake, the Christchurch City Council (CCC) set upa `wordpress’ site (in lieu of a static web page), a Twitter account and a Facebookpage. According to research by Sutton (2012), these social media sites were utilisedby CCC to publish and share information with the public and also as an alternativeresource to monitor public responses to official warnings and information online.CCC also used these sites to assess local needs and resources and to communicatedirectly with those who posted questions online. The requests for assistance thatCCC retrieved from these social media sites were shared with its internal intelligencemanagers and incident commanders to analyse trends and to response immediatelyto urgent requests from the public.

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According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of Australianhouseholds using computers and accessing the internet has significantly increased.In 2008-09, nearly three-quarters of households had internet access, up from one insix a decade earlier. Moreover, 82% of people in their 30s, 47% of people in their40s, and 45% of people in their 50s and 60s are connected on social media sites inAustralia, with the average user visiting Facebook 26 times per month (DigitalMarketing Lab, 2011). In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports andonline information has been reviewed to understand the usage of social mediaduring and after the flood.


In the days following and during the Queensland flood, Bird et al. (2012) conductedan online questionnaire survey of people who were members of a number ofcommunity Facebook pages. The survey aimed to discover how people found outabout the existence of the pages, what they were hoping to learn, and what they didwith the information. In total, 432 people responded to the survey. The researchersfound that most respondents accessed the community Facebook groups following aninvitation from Facebook friends or through a Facebook search. Many users reliedon these pages for flood-related information during the worst phase of the disasterand nearly two-thirds of respondents used the Facebook groups to gain informationabout their own community. People were using the pages to gain information andnearly all respondents (97%) communicated the knowledge directly back to familiesand friends. The majority of people trusted the information posted on the Facebookpages; almost all respondents (99%) found the information useful and less than half(39%) reported conflicting and inaccurate information. The respondents identifiedtheir greatest concerns as being conflicting and inaccurate information. This includedreports of roads being closed or open, reports of areas in need of volunteers,incorrect information about businesses (over/under pricing), reports of fuelshortages, death toll, missing persons, and comments which were consideredoffensive, inappropriate or unnecessary.


Ushahidi, a non-profit technology company that specialises in developing free andopen source software for information collection, visualisation and interactivemapping, developed an interactive online mapping service called Crowdmap, whichoffers the ability to collect information from cell phones, email and the web,aggregate that information into a single platform, and visualise it on a map and atimeline (McDougall, 2011). During the 2010-11 Queensland flood, the AustralianBroadcasting Corporation launched Queensland Flood Crisis Map – a crowdmap ofthe Queensland flood. This crowdmap allowed individuals to send flood-relatedinformation via email, text messages, Twitter or via the website itself. Thisinformation was then available to anyone with an internet connection (McDougall,2011).


The Facebook and Twitter accounts of the Queensland Police Service were vitalgateways to the most up-to-date information for Queensland residents trapped intheir homes during the flood. According to a report by The Australian, the number of

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people following the Queensland Police Service Facebook page grew from 20,000 to160,000 over just three days in January 2011 when the flood hit Queensland (Fraser,2013). The Queensland Police Service’s Digital Media Officer stated that the socialmedia sites were useful to connect with people who were isolated or without powerduring the flood. The Digital Media Officer provided an example of when theFacebook page helped one of the flood victims: `an old woman in centralQueensland who was without power during the disaster. The old woman used herlandline to ring her daughter in Brussels, who got information for her from theQueensland Police Service Facebook page’.

A report by Rive et al. (2012) compiled the advantages of social media to theQueensland Police Service, saying it found that they were able to reach large groupsof people simultaneously and disseminate information to unprecedented numbers ofpeople at record speed. The Queensland Police Service also highlighted that socialmedia is a good platform to quickly dispel rumour and misreporting before itbecomes ‘fact’, to organise large groups of people to assist in the recovery effort andto keep communities informed by providing real time updates.


The majority of US households have personal computers and internet access.According to a report by Day et al. (2005), in 2003, 70 million American households,or 62%, had one or more computers, up from 56% in 2001, and 62 millionhouseholds, or 55%, had Internet access, up from 50 percent in 2001. In 2005,Twitter had not yet been created and Facebook was still in its infancy. During thatperiod, MySpace was the most popular social media platform in the US (Glenn,2012). In this section, a selection of academic literatures, reports and onlineinformation has been reviewed to understand the usage of social media during andafter the hurricane.


In 2005, people still relied on television and local newspapers to get the currentupdates on Hurricane Katrina. Based on an online article by Loeb (2012), only 50%of all Internet users, or 72 million people, obtained information about HurricaneKatrina online. Out of the 72 million people, around 73% received updates frommajor news organizations. Websites for non-profits were the second most visitedsource of information. According to Pew Internet Study, as cited by Loeb (2012),around 5% of internet users, or 7 million people, went online to set up their own reliefefforts. The study also found that a mere 17% went to Internet blogs to learn aboutthe hurricanes. Moreover, an online article by Conley (2012), provides an example ofthe usage of Internet blogs during Hurricane Katrina. A group of virtual womenvolunteers created Internet blogs and newsgroups to disseminate information duringthe disaster. The virtual volunteers posted information and organized clothing andfood shipments using blogs, listservs and Yahoo! groups. Conley (2012) alsohighlighted that this group of women volunteers not only used the platforms toexchange resources and information, but also found refuge in these online spaces.


Wal-Mart, an American multinational retail corporation, utilised the company’scorporate and Sam’s Club websites to provide a missing person picture board onlinefrom photos uploaded from its in-store Digital Photo Centre Kiosks. A report released

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on its corporate website on 20th September 2005 stated that this free service allowedindividuals, unsure of the whereabouts of families and friends, to upload photosonline of the person they were trying to contact. The upload included a photo andcontact phone number. Moreover, Wal-Mart also set up an Emergency ContactService that allowed Wal-Mart staff and customers to post messages and search forfriends and families at in-store kiosks, Walmart.com, walmartfacts.com,walmartstores.com, samsclub.com and walmartfoundation.org websites. The in-storeGift Registry kiosks were also made available for people to specify items needed sothat others across the country could see those needs and assist in purchasing andsending those items. Wal-Mart also indicated that it donated more than 150computers to Red Cross Shelters.


The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was involved in investigating an influx offake charity websites and emails that provided bogus virtual platforms for donationsto the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The FBI website provided details of known fakecharity websites and emails, and it informed the public on how to file complaints.Moreover, based on the FBI website, the US Department of Justice collaborated withthe National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to help reunitefamilies separated by Hurricane Katrina. A dedicated website was set up to showphotos of children looking for their parents and helped parents to find their missingchildren.

Summary of Part IV: The usage of social media during and after naturaldisasters

In this chapter, academic literatures, reports and online information have beenreviewed to compile examples of social media usage during and after naturaldisasters and its role for the residents, major companies and governments. Thesummary is as follows:

1) The usage of social media by residents

Facebook and Twitter are the most used and relied upon social mediaplatforms during and after disasters.

Users regard social media as helpful, with many users becoming activeusers during and after a disaster.

People used Facebook and Twitter to update on their safety, to receivesupport and reach a wider audience, to receive and share immediate andtimely information and to communicate knowledge directly back to familyand friends.

There were also concerns about inaccurate and conflicting information onTwitter and Facebook.

In 2005, Twitter had not been created and Facebook had just beenlaunched, thus victims of Hurricane Katrina still relied on major newsorganisations to receive updates, besides Internet blogs and Yahoo!groups.

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2) The usage of social media by major companies

Major companies utilised their own technology and other sophisticatedtechnology to help victims in various forms:

o Google launched the all-inclusive Google Crisis Centre;o NTT Docomo set up an accessible voicemail message system on

its internet board;o Skype offered free Wi-Fi and free calls from all of its available hot

spots;o The Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched Queensland

Flood Crisis Map via an interactive online mapping service,Crowdmap.

The Bank of New Zealand used Twitter to provide various updates to itscustomers.

Wal-Mart used its in-store Digital Photo Centre to provide a missingperson’s picture board online via its corporate websites.

3) The usage of social media by governments

The usage of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter areevidenced in the case studies. These sites we used by the Prime Ministerof Japan, the Office of the Prime Minister of Japan, Christchurch CityCouncil and Queensland Police Service.

In general, social media sites were used by the governments to help thecommunities and affected residents with real time updates on reliefinformation, rolling blackouts and various services.

The governments also used social media sites to monitor public responsesto official warning information online, to respond to urgent requests forassistance, and to dispel rumours, misreporting and hoax websites.

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4. Conclusion

This chapter will summarise the findings of this report and how it achieved itsobjectives. In addition, suggestions on how the UK government and UK food industrycould use the findings will also be summarised. Finally, the limitations and potentialareas for further investigation will be discussed.

Achievements of Objectives

a) Identify consumer behaviour during and after natural disasters

The following common consumer behaviours were identified:

Stockpiling and panic buying

It was demonstrated in all four case studies that residents who live outside theaffected areas tended to stockpile and to be involved in panic buying, however, thereis no clear evidence for the reasons behind this behaviour. In contrast, the directlyaffected residents opted to shop at local convenience stores instead of out of townstores immediately or days after natural disasters. This is because residents in theaffected areas experienced difficulty in purchasing goods due to inaccessibility ofsales channels, difficulty in accessing shops due to collapsed buildings andinfrastructure and fear of going into shops.

Preference for staple, shelf-stable and dried foods

Based on the four case studies, residents in both directly and non-directly affectedareas generally buy a lot of staple, shelf-stable and dried foods immediately or daysafter a natural disaster. The goods that the residents tend to stockpile and chooseduring panic buying include bottled water, milk, bread, rice, pasta, canned foods,powdered milk and baby food. During the winter storm in the US, residents tended tocut back on restaurant visits, instead they spent more on coffee shops, food deliveryand drive-through services. Residents were also willing to substitute products andcompromise on product quality, which was evidenced during and after the floods inQueensland, Australia.

Emerging trends of online shopping

In most of the natural disasters reviewed, immediately or days after the event,residents in directly affected areas were reported to stay away from stores at out oftown areas. However, recent events from 2010 showed new emerging trends inconsumer behaviour. The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that localconvenience stores had fared worse than large stores due to shoppers opting to buyfood online rather than go to their local stores during the winter of 2013. Moreover,Japanese consumers purchased more goods online after the earthquake andtsunami in order to avoid the `embarrassment’ of being seen shopping in public.

Post-disaster psychological impact

There were positive and negative impacts to residents in the medium to long termafter a natural disaster. The positive impacts include the motivation of the affectedresidents to revert to their normal daily behaviour, a display of resilience towardspost-disaster environment and conscious efforts towards food safety and overalldisaster recovery. On the other hand, questionnaires conducted after the earthquakein Christchurch and Hurricane Katrina revealed a few common negative

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psychological impacts post-disaster which include increased alcohol purchase,increased anxiety and stress levels and a tendency towards consumption ofunhealthy foods.

b) Identify the communications and actions from major companies during and afternatural disasters

The following common communications and actions by major companies wereidentified:

Regular communications

All major companies in the shipping, ports, manufacturing, retail, energy andcommunications industries were involved in providing coherent and regularcommunication during and after natural disasters. The types of communicationincluded updates on the operations, recovery efforts, disrupted services and affectedareas. There were also evidences that the major companies displayed quick actionsand continuous efforts to restore operations during and after natural disasters viavarious alternative sources and services.

Cooperation with other companies

In order to cope with disruption on supplies of key products, major companies madeconcerted efforts to restore services and operations as quickly as possible. Forinstance, in the US and New Zealand, shipping lines cooperated with otheralternative ports in order to resume services and to prioritise the supply of keycommodities such as foods and fuels. Retailers in Australia also cooperated witheach other in order to resume stock supplies to meet increased demand fromconsumers.

Safety as the highest priority

In general, all major companies prioritised the safety of staff, the reinstatement ofdamaged facilities and overall operations during and after natural disasters. Forinstance, information, support and compensation were provided to staff that wereaffected by severely damaged working facilities. Moreover, major companies tendedto prioritise overall safety at damaged facilities and infrastructures until restorationworks were completed.

c) Identify the communications and actions from governments during and afternatural disasters

The following common communications and actions by governments were identified:

Efforts to mitigate impacts

Based on the four case studies, government departments were involved in variousefforts to mitigate the impact of natural disasters through various campaigns toreduce panic buying and to encourage energy-saving efforts. Governmentdepartments were also involved in key cargo inspections and prioritisation ofsupplies of key commodities.

Safety advice to residents

Due to the various types of risks of contamination to food and water supplies after anatural disaster, government departments were involved in educating the residents

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on food and water related safety advice such as providing comprehensive guidelineson food evaluation at home and methods to minimise food and water spoilage. Theradioactive contamination which was an aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami inJapan resulted in immediate actions by the government to conduct on-going tests tomonitor and detect the levels of radioactivity in foods.

Relief efforts and financial assistance

Government departments were involved in various relief efforts during and afternatural disasters, such as deployment of army and police personnel to affectedareas and helping the industries to airlift food supplies to affected residents.Government departments were also involved in energy, water and sewerage systemrestoration works. Financial assistance was also provided to farmers, producers andranchers that were directly affected by natural disasters.

d) Identify the usage and role of social media during and after natural disasters

The following usages and roles of social media during and after natural disasterswere identified:

Most popular social media sites

Based on various literatures and online information related to the case studies, it wasevidenced that Facebook and Twitter were the most popular social media sitesduring and after the natural disasters in Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Usage of social media sites by residents, major companies and governmentdepartments

In general, social media sites were utilised by the residents, major companies andgovernment departments to provide and receive the latest information updatesduring and after natural disasters. It was evidenced that social media sites werespecifically used by governments to provide various recovery and safety efforts toaffected residents. The affected residents used social media sites to provide updateson their situation to family and friends whereas the major companies used socialmedia to provide operation updates to their customers.

Concerns related to usage of social media sites

The usage of social media sites has its own drawbacks in terms of the accuracy andauthenticity of shared updates and information. Besides providing updates, theinvolvement of government departments such as the Queensland Police Service andthe Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was to eliminate and dispel rumours,misreporting and hoax websites during and after natural disasters.

In summary, the research demonstrated that even though consumers tend tostockpile and get involved in panic buying, they are willing to substitute food productsand compromise on product quality. Major companies put safety as the highestpriority and at the same time are willing to cooperate with competitors to improveresilience. Government departments play a crucial role in mitigating impacts, andsocial media prove to be an important platform for information sharing but requirevalidation on information authenticity and accuracy from the government.

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Contributions of the findings to the UK government and UK food industry

1) Knowledge sharingDefra, the UK government and the UK food industry could utilise this report as aguideline to allocate appropriate provisions, resources and information in theevent of a natural disaster in the UK. Based on the findings and facts found in thisreport, Defra, the UK government and the UK food industry could considerimplementing various measures to ensure the necessary food supplies,emergencies supplies, basic infrastructure and continuous information can besustained during and after a natural disaster.

2) Future policy makingThis report has focussed on four case studies based on natural disasters in fourdifferent countries. The UK is potentially exposed to natural disasters such asstorm surges and flooding that could threaten the existing food supply chainprocesses. This report will hopefully provide an overview on consumer behaviour,communications and the usage of social media which can be utilised by Defra,the UK government and the UK food industry for future policy making to helpmitigate impacts and maintain resilience of supply.

Limitations and potential areas for further investigations

The limitation of this report is, firstly, that the information is based solely on previousfindings from academic literatures, reports and online information. The findings maynot be applicable to UK consumers. Secondly, the types of communications by majorcompanies were researched based on only six business sectors, thus the findingsmay not be directly applicable to other business sectors. Thirdly, the types ofcommunication by governments were focused on the government departments in thecountry for each case study, thus the methods of communication may not be directlyapplicable to the UK government. Fourthly, technology such as social media isconstantly evolving. Hence, in the next few years, there is likely to be newtechnology being created or different trends emerging in terms of social mediausage. Thus, the findings may not be directly applicable for future social mediausage. Finally, the extent of damage varies hugely between the case studies, thusthe findings need consideration according to the scale of a disaster.

Further investigations could focus on UK consumers by conducting a questionnairesurvey in areas affected by recent or future natural disasters. Secondly, futureresearch could focus on a disaster-prone country or continent as a case study.Thirdly, future research could focus on other essential supplies and infrastructureduring and after natural disasters, such as fuel, electricity supplies, clean water andsewage, which belong to the key infrastructure for food supplies and distributionsystems.

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